The US Navy is preparing to test industrial systems as the maritime service seeks new underwater sensors, automatic target recognition capabilities, and other tools to protect assets and carry out other important tasks.
A new notification from sources on August 13, 2024, states that the Office of Naval Research is conducting the 25.2 Operational Technology Experimentation event as part of a campaign to consider new technologies to support operational goals related to “underwater warfare and seabed warfare.”
One of the three main areas of focus will be on capabilities that can monitor and protect underwater infrastructure and facilities to deter enemy underwater reconnaissance using stationary devices or underwater vehicles. This includes sensors and tools for automatic target recognition, according to an appendix to the notification.
Lawmakers have expressed concern about potential threats posed by enemy maritime drones operating in US waters and near American military facilities. They have suggested that the Pentagon may need to procure new tools to counter these types of systems.
Intrusions by unmanned aerial vehicles into US airspace are a concern. The committee believes that potential intrusions by unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) could create similar problems for our security, as members of the Senate Armed Services Committee wrote in their report for the SASC version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, suggesting that Pentagon leadership should consider whether the Department needs to acquire other or enhanced capabilities to neutralize future threats from UUVs.
During a discussion on counter-drone issues at the NDIA’s New Defense Technologies Conference and Exhibition in early August 2024, Mike Dickerson, Executive Director of the Navy’s Rapid Response Group, emphasized the growing threats the maritime service faces.
According to Dickerson, unmanned systems are progressing in both surface and underwater environments, in addition to aerial domains. He stated that surface and underwater systems are currently on a similar trajectory to unmanned aircraft, although they may be a few years behind. Dickerson observed that all of these domains are undergoing exponential growth in capability and widespread adoption. He acknowledged that challenges will persist as technologies evolve and new applications emerge. Nevertheless, Dickerson expressed his conviction that it will be feasible to preserve a sufficient position to confront these threats through the implementation of appropriate strategies, partnerships, and targeted investments.
In 2023, the service issued an industry notice that it required seabed and port security technologies to protect against divers and underwater vehicles, including capabilities to support detection, tracking, and fire control needed to combat potential underwater threats.
The Navy has also collaborated with the Defense Innovation Unit on implementing target-related technologies under the “Automatic Target Recognition Using Machine Learning Operations for Maritime Operations” project, also known as Project AMMO.
The new notice says that other important parts of TOEE 25.2 are tools and decision-making aids that improve command and control and “enable effective planning and coordination of distributed underwater and maritime warfare assets.” These include autonomous underwater navigation, collaborative autonomy, and mission behavior “during long-range unmanned underwater transits without exposing the platform to detection.”
The US Navy and the Department of Defense as a whole are planning an experimental campaign against the backdrop of a larger effort to acquire artificial intelligence and autonomy tools that will aid commanders in decision-making and enable unmanned platforms to operate cooperatively or as part of a larger network of manned and unmanned systems.
Interest in advanced technologies arises as the Navy develops large unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to expand its underwater capabilities for extended intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and other tasks without putting sailors at risk due to manned submarines.
The Defense Innovation Unit, in collaboration with the Navy’s Advanced Undersea Systems Program Office, announced in February 2024 that three suppliers—Anduril Industries, Oceaneering International, and Kongsberg Discovery—had received contracts to develop large underwater drone prototypes for the US military.
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) issued a statement that underscores the critical importance of undersea warfare in the Pacific and other contested regions. The DIU underscored the significance of autonomous underwater sensing and payload delivery in contested, deep, dispersed, and long-range environments. The DIU emphasized the need for a fleet of large displacement unmanned underwater vehicles (LDUUVs) with a range of capabilities to enhance the US military’s underwater capabilities. It also acknowledged the value of manned submarines as capital platforms that require a lot of resources for important combat missions.
Additionally, in December 2023, the Navy received its first Orca unmanned submarine. Designed as a highly reliable underwater drone with a modular payload bay, the extra-large UUV can autonomously travel long distances, lay mines, or perform other tasks.
Meanwhile, according to the notification, the results of the TOEE 25.2 experiments will serve as a foundation for Navy investments in science and technology, including further development, transition, or commercialization.
Government personnel at contractor facilities will conduct a “limited technical assessment” of capabilities from October to November 2024.
According to officials, the Office of Naval Research intends to invite contractors with “outstanding systems” to participate in a series of TOEE 25.2 experiments during the 2025 fiscal year. The Office of Naval Research plans to conduct “limited objective experiments” and “extended capability experiments” at government test ranges in January 2025 and September 2025.
The deadline for submitting responses to the request is September 27, 2024. Before the deadline, the maritime service plans to hold a virtual industry day on August 28, 2024, to discuss the initiative.