METRON INCORPORATED — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N161-053

Description

Striking the right balance between mission requirements, communications, navigation accuracy, stealth, and risk is a perennial challenge for the Navy in the undersea warfare domain. Beyond the challenge it represents for the submarine forces, that balance represents an acute threat to the effectiveness of the Navys growing fleet of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs). While UUVs have achieved significant improvements in mission capabilities, communicating mission-critical information remains a significant impediment to mission effectiveness. Furthermore, effective operations of UUVs in contexts such as Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) demands greater covertness, and has a nearly absolute requirement for the platforms to remain on station, submerged, while collecting and transmitting data to the fleet. In order to provide an affordable solution enabling these missions, Metron proposes designing and developing an innovative, low-cost, scalable, and modular tethered antenna for UUVs. The resulting system will allow UUVs to transmit data, receive instruction, and geolocate without interrupting submerged operations or compromising stealth. Ultimately, this system will allow for expansion of applicable UUV mission types, improving USN effectiveness while allowing for capitalization on the reduced operating costs UUVs can provide.