ARLINGTON, Va. — For the first time ever, the Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle-Innovative Naval Prototype (LDUUV-INP) will be on display to the public during the Sea-Air-Space Exposition, at the (ONR) booth.
Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Mat Winter will hold a special informational session at the ONR booth from 12:45 to 1:15 p.m. EST on Tuesday, April 14, to discuss ONR technologies on display.
LDUUV-INP represents cutting-edge UUV research that will deliver game-changing capabilities to naval warfighters. This LDUUV-INP is the second version of the platform.
“Sea-Air-Space presents a great opportunity for us to highlight ONR’s contributions that are making a marked difference to our warfighters, to our Navy and Marine Corps, and the nation,” said ONR Executive Director Dr. Walter Jones. “Scientific leadership in autonomy and unmanned systems enabled the LDUUV-INP, which will strongly complement our existing undersea capabilities and platforms.”
Naval leaders at the expo will address the significant science and technology advancements that have taken place under the LDUUV-INP program, including leap-ahead capabilities in UUV endurance, power and autonomy.
Other breakthrough ONR technologies being highlighted at the event include:
- LOCUST: Low-Cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Swarming Technology. On display is a prototype, tube-launched UAV. The LOCUST program will make possible the launch of multiple swarming UAVs to autonomously overwhelm an adversary.
- GBAD: Ground-Based Air Defense On-the-Move. GBAD is a vehicle-based, mobile, high-energy laser that is a cost-effective defense against asymmetric threats like UAVs. GBAD’s evolution has mirrored that of other directed-energy programs sponsored by ONR, including the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) that is today operating aboard the USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf. On display at the ONR booth will be the system’s search radar, as well as a model of its planer waveguide laser.
- MDUSV: ONR’s Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV) program will be to autonomous surface vessels what LDUUV-INP will be to the undersea autonomous realm. The technology will be joined with an emerging new platform called the Antisubmarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), in partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. This joint, modular platform is designed for multimission capabilities and modular payload options — and will bring new advances in speed, endurance and sea-state capabilities. On display is a model of the future 130-foot long vessel. The project will include the use of ONR-sponsored autonomous technologies similar to those used in autonomous swarmboats.
These and other technologies in autonomy and directed energy programs support highest level Navy and Marine Corps leadership for greater autonomy capabilities for the future force. ONR’s programs support the nation’s maritime strategy for sea services, called the Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower, and the Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert’s recent call to reduce reliance on gunpowder through directed energy weapons, and increase the endurance of UUVs.