Comments on: Raytheon to Launch UAV from Submarine

By: campbell

campbell — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:15:54 +0000

launching anything from a sub does increase possibility of subs’ detection, slight perhaps, but real.
instead: in August, Navy requested info from manufacturers about lighter-than-air craft; airships as UAVs which would have week loiter time. That length of time allows the airship to travel from locations thousands of miles away from areas of interest…thus protecting subs’ location
more importantly, the same request also sought information on MANNED airships, from small single man sized up to craft that would carry 500 tons.
Carrying a pilot instead of being “unmanned”, puts human brain where a robot currently in in UAVs, increases capabilities a thousandfold.
Large,MANNED rigid, amphibious airships (NO BLIMPS!)would be able to carry special ops forces from stateside to any location on earth, within 72 hours. Large rigid airships can carry battalion sized units/hundreds of tons of cargo to any destination on earth, including front lines, from statestide, within 72 hours, with no fuel needs/costs.
militaryairships dot blogspot dot com

By: stephen russell

stephen russell — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:26:23 +0000

Radical, to counter pirates & Recon pre SEAL Ops.
Must have for those SSGNs & SSNs.
Nice option.
Give Real Time feed to C3I Ops,

By: unmannedanimal

unmannedanimal — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:40:13 +0000

it’s exhilarating to see the progress being made in unmanned systems by the navy. this particular launch reminds me instantly of the cormorant morphing-wing project lockheed worked on for a while; i had a brief academic interest in the project last summer and got a chance to talk with some of the folks who worked on it. the cormorant was designed to fit in the missile tubes of trident subs, this design goes out through the garbage chute. pretty soon they’ll be able to make their own holes in the hull!
uavs have been so important on the ground that the push now is how to best share access to them. the navy has been able to diverge and explore multi-agent, multi-modal sensor nets (PLUSnet et. al.) to redefine ocean sensing. low angle of observance solutions are “on the horizon”.
it’s a wonderful time to dig robots.