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Modular Tethered Antennas for Undersea Platforms
Navy SBIR 2016.1 - Topic N161-053 NAVSEA - Mr. Dean Putnam - [email protected] Opens: January 11, 2016 - Closes: February 17, 2016 N161-053 TITLE: Modular Tethered Antennas for Undersea Platforms TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Battlespace, Electronics, Sensors ACQUISITION PROGRAM: The FNC is SIRFSUP (FNT-FY15-04). NAVSEA PEOSUBS PMS 435 (Submarine Electro The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. OBJECTIVE: Develop a modular, reconfigurable, tethered antenna lift body for undersea platforms that will support two-way Radio Frequency (RF) communication, imaging sensors, broadband Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) antennas, and Global Positioning System (GPS) reception. DESCRIPTION: Undersea platforms (Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUV), submarines, buoys) are used in many applications where the covert, extended persistence of an emitter is required. These platforms generally navigate via an inertial navigation unit that is fixed to GPS prior to diving or acoustically via transponders in fixed locations. The underwater regime limits these platforms ability to communicate or perform collection while at depth. The current state of the art options available are low data rate acoustics, or latent RF communications as the platform periodically comes back to the surface. Neither of these allow for persistent ISR from undersea platforms. The ability to perform electromagnetic ISR functions and communicate rapidly while still submerged would be very beneficial to many applications and the Scalable Integrated RF for Undersea Platforms (SIRFSUP) Future Naval Capability (FNC) application in particular. As an example, a UUV would have to intercept a Signal of Interest under the guidance of a remote detection system and report the incident back to a parent authority. A tethered antenna that will support two-way RF communication and GPS reception would greatly enhance the identification (ID) and localization capabilities of such a system (ref. 2). The floating wires and communication buoys utilized by submarines provide potential inspiration. The intent of the tethered structure is to perform both the ISR function and the report back / communication function and support tremendous depth excursions. The current state of the art allows for the report back / communications in a relatively shallow depth excursion and does not support the broadband RF components to support ISR missions. The tethered lift body must be modular and easily reconfigurable carrying payloads, antennas, or sensors less than 10 pounds in weight on a tether of less than 500 feet (ref. 1). This modular capability must survive in depths less than 2,000 feet. It is expected that this capability (when in production) will have a cost less than $25,000 US dollars. By developing tethered modular antenna sections, undersea platforms will be able to more covertly accomplish their missions and allow an ability to communicate back while minimizing surface exposure time. For UUV�s and other deployable buoys to perform an ISR mission, reconfigurable antenna modules tailored to the missions at hand, will be required. This topic increases mission performance by allowing unmanned deployable undersea platforms to become force multipliers for a submarine in the future. These capabilities will allow the unmanned platform to stay below the surface (allowing for more covert operations) but still allow for the offloading of critical data elements when required, thus decreasing mission time and surface exposure. In an acoustic mission, this keeps the acoustic sensors at the proper layer depth but still allows for off-loading of critical information. In an ISR role, this allows the platform to stay deep (minimizing surface exposure) but still allows the platform to get the appropriate receive sensors to the surface. The Phase II and Phase III effort will require secure access, and NAVSEA will process the DD254 to support the contractor for personnel and facility certification for secure access. The Phase I effort will not require access to classified information. If required, data of the same level of complexity as secured data will be provided to support Phase I work. PHASE I: The company will develop a concept for a tethered, modular, reconfigurable antenna that meets requirements as stated in the Description above. The company will demonstrate the feasibility of the concept through modeling and analysis and show that the concept will increase the overall performance of the antenna. Phase I Option, if awarded, would include the initial layout and capabilities description to build the unit in Phase II. PHASE II: Based on the results of Phase I effort and the Phase II Statement of Work (SOW), the company will develop a prototype to demonstrate the submerged tethered, modular, reconfigurable antenna performance through employment of an actual UUV or a realistic surrogate. The prototype will be evaluated to determine its capability in meeting the performance goals defined in the Phase II SOW for the tethered lift body. The company will be required to develop a clear and concise transition schedule or plan showing how to get from prototype stage to Engineering Development Model for the Program of Record (POR) acquisition office. The prototype will be delivered to the Navy at the end of the Phase II. Companies participating in Phase II will be required to prepare a plan to transition the technology to the Navy under Phase III. PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The company will be expected to support the Navy in transitioning the tethered antenna lift body system to Navy use in the Undersea Platforms Program Office. The company will finalize the design and fabricate two engineering development models (EDMs) of the tethered antenna lift body system, in accordance with the Phase III SOW, to evaluate and determine its effectiveness in an operationally relevant environment. The company will support the Navy for test and validation in accordance with AN/BLQ-10B (V) POR to certify and qualify the system for Navy use and for transition into an operational environment. Following testing and validation, the end design is expected to produce results outperforming the current lift system technology. SECRET clearance may be required for Phase III. The lift system described in this topic could have private sector commercial potential that could be utilized by commercial unmanned platforms for communications with their parent and hosting platforms. Some possible areas for utilization are oil exploration, ocean floor mapping, and whale monitoring among others. REFERENCES: 1. M. Kono, "Winding and packing of optical fiber for deployment from remotely controlled underwater vehicles", Proceedings of the winter annual meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, November 1981. 2. High-Strength, Long-Length Optical Fiber for Submarine Communications at Speed and Depth, Navy SBIR 2008.1 - Topic N08-095. http://www.navysbir.com/n08_1/N081-095.htm . KEYWORDS: Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV); Unmanned Underwater/Undersea Vehicle (UUV); communications; underwater antennas; tethered platforms; Global Positioning System (GPS) TPOC-1: Steven Henry Phone: 401-832-7849 Email: [email protected] TPOC-2: Jeffrey Carvalho Phone: 401-832-3527 Email: [email protected] Questions may also be submitted through DoD SBIR/STTR SITIS website.
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