Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) may fill gaping hole in aircraft carrier submarine defenses

WASHINGTON – The return of great-power competition has the U.S. military refocusing on the potential for a conflict with a sophisticated adversary whose submarines can sink Navy aircraft carriers. Business Insider reports. Continue reading original article

The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:

2 Jan. 2019 -- But the centerpiece of the US Navy's fleet has a decade-old gap in its submarine defenses, and filling it may require new, unmanned aircraft.

During the Cold War and the years afterward, aircraft carriers had fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters for anti-submarine-warfare (ASW) operations. For much of that period, the fixed-wing option was the S-3 Viking.

Unmanned systems — sensors as well as unmanned underwater and surface vehicles — are seen as an option to extend the carrier's reach. The Navy has already awarded Boeing a contract for unmanned aerial refueling vehicles.

Related: New era dawns in ASW as manned and unmanned submarines team for bistatic sonar

Related: BAE Systems to develop MAD ASW drone to help Navy P-8A find submarines from high altitudes

Related: Navy places order for 166,500 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) sonobuoys in $219.8 million deal

John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics

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