ARETE ASSOCIATES — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N212-123

Description

Many cylindrical unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) lack the payload capacity needed for critical Navy applications. To improve this capability, Areté proposes to mature a previously tested technology for an externally mounted UUV payload launcher, which Areté designed to be low-SWaP and imperceptible with respect to UUV performance. Additionally, we propose to investigate an external self-deploying payload concept that leaves no trace on the host vehicle. For UUV-payload release commands, we outline a clandestine non-penetrative through-hull acoustic communications method for one-way and bi-directional data transmission. Areté’s Phase I plan includes hardware design, hydrodynamic performance modeling, and in-water testing to demonstrate the feasibility of our external payload deployment systems. Areté’s demonstrated experience with UUV payload systems and production-level UUV hardware integration reduces program risk. Following the selection of a candidate test vehicle and generation of system requirements with the Navy, our designs will provide a clear path to prototype fabrication and testing in Phase II.