DARPA awards contract for anti-submarine warfare continuous trail unmanned vessel program

MCLEAN, Va., 25 Aug 2012. DARPA has awarded Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) a $58.5 million contract to perform the final three phases of the anti-submarine warfare continuous trail unmanned vessel (ACTUV) program. SAIC will design, construct and demonstrate a prototype ACTUV as part of this contract.

The ACTUV will be able to navigate safely at sea according to maritime law, as well as to international regulations for avoiding collisions at sea. Not only will the vessel be able to navigate by itself around the world in all kinds of ocean conditions, but it also will be able to employ its sensor suite autonomously and carry out appropriate tactics based on target behavior environmental conditions.

In particular, the ACTUV system will be able to operate on long deployments with no underway human maintenance or repair, unlike current unmanned surface vessels, which are launched and recovered from manned ships, teleoperated from manned ships, and are limited to direct support of manned ship missions.

The ACTUV will also be capable of outmaneuvering submarines that are piloted by human adversaries.

Work for this contract will be performed in Arlington, Va.; Vancouver, Wash.; Long Beach, Miss.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Glen Burnie, Md.; Portsmouth, R.I.; Pasadena, Calif.; Newport, R.I.; Melbourne, Fla.; Bowie, Md.; Bristol, R.I.; Gloucester Point, Va.; and Virginia Beach, Va. Work is expected to be completed in August 2015.