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The Undersea Systems Focus Area addresses innovative affordable, persistent and stealthy undersea systems that leverage the asymmetric U.S. Navy advantage afforded by subsurface operations.​

A dynamic era in naval oceanography recently ended as the iconic Floating Instrument Platform — popularly known as FLIP — was officially retired from service. Built in 1962 with funding from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), FLIP helped generations of scientists and oceanographers better understand the mysteries of the sea, including internal waves, air-sea interaction and long-range sound propagation. Sadly, age and exorbitant life-extension costs resulted in the platform being disestablished. On Aug. 3, a solemn gathering of well-wishers watched as FLIP was towed, at sunset, to a dismantling and recycling facility. Last month, a formal good-bye ceremony was hosted by the Marine Physical Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Though retired, FLIP will live on at Scripps. One of its booms (crane-like arms for suspending instruments) will be installed on the Scripps research pier in La Jolla and used to deploy instruments. Also, artifacts from the platform will be displayed in a permanent exhibit at Scripps’ Birch Aquarium.

The Office of Naval Research's Navy Undersea Research Program (NURP), in collaboration with the National Science Foundation, sponsors science and engineering graduate students pursuing thesis topics in core undersea weaponry technology areas.

The Navy faces the complex task of efficiently managing diverse material streams, either generated as operational byproducts or at the end of their service life. The Office of Naval Research's Materials Treatment and Recovery program ensures their appropriate treatment and recovery.

Naval assets, large and small, spend months to years at sea exposed to considerable biofouling pressures. The Office of Naval Research's Biofouling Control program sponsors research to develop antifouling/fouling release coatings and the mechanics underlying such materials.

The Ocean Battlespace Sensing Department explores science and technology in the ocean battlespace environment.