On
5th December, the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) announced that
it had successfully launched a drone from a submerged submarine. The
all-electric eXperimental Fuel Cell Unmanned Aerial System (XFC) was launched
in the Bahamas from the Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS
Providence (SSN 719) using a system that allowed the drone to be deployed
without modifications to the boat, or requiring it to surface.
The
XFC unmanned aircraft was developed by the NRL in less than six years from
initial concept to current stage. It’s all electric and powered by a fuel cell
that allows it to stay aloft for more than six hours. According the the NRL,
the UAV is relatively low cost, flies at low altitude, and is designed for
Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The craft has
folding wings and is designed to be launched from a pickup truck or small
surface vessel. For the submarine test, the XFC was placed inside of a “Sea
Robin” launch vehicle. The Sea Robin fits inside of a standard vertical
Tomahawk missile launch tube, such as those aboard the USS Providence. After
launching, the Sea Robin rose to the surface and took on the appearance of a
spar buoy. After the Sea Robin opened, the XFC used its electrically assisted
take-off system to raise itself vertically out of the container, and after
reaching operating speed and altitude unfolded its wings for horizontal flight.
The XFC flew for several hours as it beamed back a video feed to the
Providence.
It
then returned to the submarine and its surface support vessels before landing
at the Naval Sea Systems Command Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center
(AUTEC), on Andros Island in the Bahamas.
Source: US Naval Research Laboratory
Source: US Naval Research Laboratory
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