The Navy will building prototype large robotic submarines in 2015-2016 and testing in 2018. According to the Navy’s ISR Capabilities Division, LDUUV will reach initial operating capability as a squadron by 2020 and full rate production by 2025.
The Navy wants two things in the first version.
1) “intelligence, scouting, and reconnaissance” underwater, which means the combined jobs of watching an area for potential threats and then sending back useful information to people on shore.
2. “Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment.” Observing a battlefield and evaluating enemy options in war, to (in peacetime) exploring potential threats and courses of action.
The LDUUV as an underwater scout and spy, a submarine whose sensors will collect data to help build a better understanding of what future naval wars could look like.
Future robot subs will be used as
* underwater minesweepers
* launch flying scout drones that scan above the surface of the sea
* “deploy payloads” such as shooting torpedoes or missiles.
The LDUUV can be launched from drydocks, Virginia-class submarines, and the Littoral Combat Ship.
SOURCES- FBO, Navaldrones, Popular Science
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