Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), a global all-domain defense partner, today announced that it has successfully demonstrated the launch and recovery of a large-size unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) in collaboration with the US Navy.
Using HII’s Pharos system and an amphibious ship, the company’s Advanced Technology Group, comprising members from its Mission Technologies and Ingalls Shipbuilding divisions, conducted a series of tests to ensure the system’s compatibility with the Navy’s Snakehead phase one large displacement UUV.
The tests, which took place in Panama City, Florida and Newport, Rhode Island, showed that Pharos could be adapted to a range of vehicles, including large displacement UUVs, and that the 22,000-pound pull was within the existing capabilities of an LPD. Chris Kastner, HII’s president and CEO, said the demonstration was a “great example of synergies within HII that accelerate the Navy’s vision for the future fleet,” and Todd Borkey, HII’s executive vice president and chief technology officer, added that it “validated a near term launch and recovery capability for the Pharos system.”
HII is now entering the next phase of testing to demonstrate a launch and recovery from an LPD. The company entered into two Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City division and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, Rhode Island, to further advance the capability to deploy unmanned vehicles from ships. The Pharos system began as a corporate independent research and development project, with Ingalls Shipbuilding developing over 40 launch and recovery concepts before the Pharos system was selected for testing.
Read the full press release here – HII’s Pharos Demonstrates Launch and Recovery with Navy Unmanned Vehicle