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Posted: 2/14/2019 4:58:29 PM EDT
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a26344025/navy-extra-large-unmanned-submarines-boeing/
The U.S. Navy has awarded a contract to Boeing for four Extra-Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (XLUUVs). In other words: giant drone subs. The unmanned submarines, called Orcas, will be able to undertake missions from scouting to sinking ships at very long ranges. Drone ships like the Orca will revolutionize war at sea, providing inexpensive, semi-disposable weapon systems that can fill the gaps in the front line—or simply go where it’s too dangerous for manned ships to go. The contract, announced today, stipulates Boeing will get $43 million for “fabrication, test, and delivery of four Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (XLUUVs) and associated support elements.” That’s just over ten million bucks per boat. (Read the article) |
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Quoted: (Read the article) View Quote Can you give me the your opinion of them? I don't feel like reading it. |
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"It measures 51 by 8.5 by 8.5 feet and has a weight "in the air" of 50 tons.... The unmanned sub has an internal cargo volume of 2,000 cubic feet with a maximum length of 34 feet and a capacity of eight tons. It can also support external payloads hanging off the hull.... Orca could even pack a Mk. 46 lightweight torpedo to take a shot at an enemy sub itself. It could also carry heavier Mk. 48 heavyweight torpedoes to attack surface ships, or even conceivably anti-ship missiles. "
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Let's say that you wanted to collect some intel on a target that required a violation of internationally recognized coastal waters.
An unmanned vessel is probably what you would want to use for something like that. If it gets detected and attacked, it was just a vessel that veered off course and wasn't responding correctly. Just theoretical. |
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So this is must be the response to Russia’s Poseidon threat. Cool.
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So, uh, how do they communicate with it in real time while it is underwater?
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Will the maintenance of the Subs once received fall to the Navy or will it be done by a private entity?
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Boeing’s Echo Voyager: Welcome to the Family * Surface Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (snooping on targets on the surface) * Information warfare (use your imagination) * Payload deployment (pick your payload) * Critical infrastructure protection (not gonna say anything) * Weapons platform (obvious) * UAV Ops (ding ding ding...extends combat radii of UAVs by getting them close to the area without being detected, awesome) * Subsea search and reconnaissance (looking for other subs, subsurface threats, mines, cables, pipelines) * Anti-Submarine Warfare and Barrier * Submarine decoy * Mine Countermeasures * Battlespace Preparation (not gonna say anything, but this is awesome) Build them by the hundreds... |
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Maybe it does predetermined routes and surfaces to relay the info to nearby ships? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes |
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Awesome.
Orca may or may not be a system that becomes a full-fledged member of the fleet, although the Navy’s purchase of four of the drones indicates it does plan on using them for real-world missions. The Navy is probably purchasing enough to continue testing while having a few on hand for actual use. View Quote |
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9vPxC-qucw * Surface Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (snooping on targets on the surface) * Information warfare (use your imagination) * Payload deployment (pick your payload) * Critical infrastructure protection (not gonna say anything) * Weapons platform (obvious) * UAV Ops (ding ding ding...extends combat radii of UAVs by getting them close to the area without being detected, awesome) * Subsea search and reconnaissance (looking for other subs, subsurface threats, mines, cables, pipelines) * Anti-Submarine Warfare and Barrier * Submarine decoy * Mine Countermeasures * Battlespace Preparation (not gonna say anything, but this is awesome) Build them by the hundreds... View Quote Sweet. When both sides have these by the hundred, carrier battle groups seem very vulnerable. |
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Let's say that you wanted to collect some intel on a target that required a violation of internationally recognized coastal waters. An unmanned vessel is probably what you would want to use for something like that. If it gets detected and attacked, it was just a vessel that veered off course and wasn't responding correctly. Just theoretical. View Quote in order to declare war or to affect laws within the US... ....ie Patriot Act II |
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Will being unmanned allow them to reach greater depths?
There may be no place in our oceans these bad boys cannot go. |
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Naval version of UAV drone swarm / torpedo sponge. Sweet. When both sides have these by the hundred, carrier battle groups seem very vulnerable. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9vPxC-qucw * Surface Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (snooping on targets on the surface) * Information warfare (use your imagination) * Payload deployment (pick your payload) * Critical infrastructure protection (not gonna say anything) * Weapons platform (obvious) * UAV Ops (ding ding ding...extends combat radii of UAVs by getting them close to the area without being detected, awesome) * Subsea search and reconnaissance (looking for other subs, subsurface threats, mines, cables, pipelines) * Anti-Submarine Warfare and Barrier * Submarine decoy * Mine Countermeasures * Battlespace Preparation (not gonna say anything, but this is awesome) Build them by the hundreds... Sweet. When both sides have these by the hundred, carrier battle groups seem very vulnerable. Looking at net-centric kill web approaches with all the other systems in the web, and things end for our enemies even faster than DS 1991. |
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I hope it can lay mines and I didn’t read the fucking article yet
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A disposable 43 Milion dollars thang. When the Federal .Gov launders money who do they turn to, General Electric, Westinghouse, Boeing, General Dynamics, etc.
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Send it ahead pinging actively to find mines and hidden subs (although a smaller version would work well there). And then blow them up.
Works for me. |
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From a deployment aspect, how do they get these things into the theater of operations? Cargo ship?
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As much as I hate dealing with Boeing as an Aerospace customer, I wish I had bought more of their stock a few years ago. It's sky rocketed.
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given the devolving personnel problem thanks to progressives destroying America's great institutions
AI beats Marxist lesbians and other infirmative action commanders all to hell eh? |
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So, uh, how do they communicate with it in real time while it is underwater? View Quote Seriously though. What’s to stop other nations from either sinking or capturing them at will. Are we willing to sink a Russian or Chinese sub that attempts to grab on to one of these things? |
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It’s autonomous and makes decisions for itself. Just don’t piss it off. Seriously though. What’s to stop other nations from either sinking or capturing them at will. Are we willing to sink a Russian or Chinese sub that attempts to grab on to one of these things? View Quote |
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Quoted:
Let's say that you wanted to collect some intel on a target that required a violation of internationally recognized coastal waters. An unmanned vessel is probably what you would want to use for something like that. If it gets detected and attacked, it was just a vessel that veered off course and wasn't responding correctly. Just theoretical. View Quote |
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The world will never know why it malfunctioned and self destructed. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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It’s autonomous and makes decisions for itself. Just don’t piss it off. Seriously though. What’s to stop other nations from either sinking or capturing them at will. Are we willing to sink a Russian or Chinese sub that attempts to grab on to one of these things? |
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I really doubt they are sailing the thing from Norfolk to the South China Sea.
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I really doubt they are sailing the thing from Norfolk to the South China Sea. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes |
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Let's say that you wanted to collect some intel on a target that required a violation of internationally recognized coastal waters. An unmanned vessel is probably what you would want to use for something like that. If it gets detected and attacked, it was just a vessel that veered off course and wasn't responding correctly. Just theoretical. |
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Let's say that you wanted to collect some intel on a target that required a violation of internationally recognized coastal waters. An unmanned vessel is probably what you would want to use for something like that. If it gets detected and attacked, it was just a vessel that veered off course and wasn't responding correctly. Just theoretical. Prepare for compromise or failure within infiltration phase, lots of shooting, followed by emergency exfil if they survive. Examples include Grenada, Panama, Red Wings in OEF, and ST6 in Somalia. They do it in training, then replicate it real-world. |
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Interesting coincidence, I watched a couple of promotional videos and looked at the spec sheet this morning.
What I'm really interested in seeing is the external payload package. The reported maximum depth is 11000 feet; it's stout, and slow. https://www.boeing.com/defense/autonomous-systems/echo-voyager/index.page You'll find a link to the product data sheet and videos at the link above. As usual, some of the information is obfuscated. The reported range is 6500 nm (1 fuel module), or ~150 nm between recharges. Pick one. Neither will be accurate in service anyway. |
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I really doubt they are sailing the thing from Norfolk to the South China Sea. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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From a deployment aspect, how do they get these things into the theater of operations? Cargo ship? Endurance: Echo Voyager’s range covers 6,500 nm (1 fuel module) allowing the vehicle to perform long endurance operations. Host ship independent: Echo Voyager is not launched from or recovered to a support vessel, nor does it require a support vessel for operation. Modular: The 51-foot-long vehicle is designed to incorporate a modular payload section for multiple uses up to 34 feet in length and 2000 cubic feet in volume, and can include payloads extending outside of its envelope. Navigation: The XLUUV’s navigation system features a proven Kalman filtered Inertial Navigation Unit supported by Doppler Velocity Logs and depth sensors offering superior directional accuracy. Powered by a hybrid combination of battery technology and marine diesel generators, Echo Voyager is truly a game-changing platform, capable of performing as a multi-mission system and playing a pivotal role in future force structure. |
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