Page 15: of Marine Technology Magazine (November 2024)

recently selected by the U.S. Navy in its systems in the face of complex mission poleon, is said to have quipped: Armies search for a seabed warfare UUV, can sets and operational friction will be one march on their stomachs. In the modern recharge independently while operating of the greatest challenges in the coming age of uncrewed systems, underwater at considerable depths. era of uncrewed underwater operations. armies will march on their batteries, fuel

What about sustained uncrewed un- As another 19th century strategist, Na- cells, and nuclear reactors.

derwater operations in contested wa- ters? A concept put forth by the U.S.

Navy and DARPA, the Forward De- ployed Energy and Communications

Outpost (FDECO), would enable sus- tained UUV operations using a network of seabed charging stations. Networks &XVWRP&DEOH like FDECO would likely be deployed clandestinely by XL-AUVs, such as the

U.S. Navy’s Orca, or by special purpose crewed submarines like the USS Jimmy (;3(576

Carter, or the forthcoming Block VI Vir- ginia-class seabed warfare variant.

Another option would be torpedo tube launch and recovery (TTLR) of UUVs, with crewed submarines acting as for- ward deployed charging stations. Tor- pedo tube equipped XL-AUVs could potentially also be ? tted with this capa- bility, enabling a lower-cost ? eet of mo- bile charging stations capable of launch- ing and recovering UUVs from within the water column.

But even with fully functioning sys- tems in place, friction, as Clausewitz re- :(6(59( minds us, is inevitable.

High sea states, strong underwater cur- 'HIHQVH rents, depth changes, and complex ma- 6FLHQWLILF5HVHDUFKK neuvering will place greater demands on thrusters and navigation sensors, causing 2LO *DV them to consume more energy. Arti? cial ([SORUDWLRQ intelligence will generate high computa- ?1129$7?21 tional loads due to complex algorithms and real-time data processing, placing a higher demand on onboard energy, as will malfunctioning sensors, software glitches, or malware infected comput- 6RXWK%D\&DEOH ers. Surface UUV recovery, recharging,

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While logistics may win wars, endur- ance is a key enabler of victory. Manag- ing the energy demands of underwater www.marinetechnologynews.com 15

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