Modular Tethered Antennas for Undersea Platforms Navy SBIR FY2016.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2016.1 Topic No.: N161-053 Topic Title: Modular Tethered Antennas for Undersea Platforms Proposal No.: N161-053-0566 Firm: Metron, Inc. 1818 Library Street Suite 600 Reston, Virginia 20190 Contact: Douglas Marble Phone: (703) 467-5609 Web Site: http://www.metsci.com Abstract: Striking the right balance between mission requirements, communications, navigation accuracy, stealth, and risk is a perennial challenge for the Navy in the undersea warfare domain. Beyond the challenge it represents for the submarine forces, that balance represents an acute threat to the effectiveness of the Navy's growing fleet of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs). While UUVs have achieved significant improvements in mission capabilities, communicating mission-critical information remains a significant impediment to mission effectiveness. Furthermore, effective operations of UUVs in contexts such as Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) demands greater covertness, and has a nearly absolute requirement for the platforms to remain on station, submerged, while collecting and transmitting data to the fleet. In order to provide an affordable solution enabling these missions, Metron proposes designing and developing an innovative, low-cost, scalable, and modular tethered antenna for UUVs. The resulting system will allow UUVs to transmit data, receive instruction, and geolocate without interrupting submerged operations or compromising stealth. Ultimately, this system will allow for expansion of applicable UUV mission types, improving USN effectiveness while allowing for capitalization on the reduced operating costs UUVs can provide. Benefits: Unmanned systems benefit the warfighter when they increase safety, reduce mission costs, and increase force capabilities. Metron will reinforce and expand these benefits for UUVs by creating a modular tethered antenna system for effective and covert UUV operations. Use of this system will allow for UUV operations in critical mission contexts, without interruption for data exfiltration, geolocation, or receiving instructions. Ultimately, this solution will increase UUV operational utility, while increasing potential submerged operations time. Moreover, this system will create a generalizable solution addressing a critical UUV technology gap, including throughout the government and commercial sectors. Return