Partnership Announced for Undersea Unmanned Vehicles
Boeing is currently testing its newest UUV, Echo Voyager, off the Southern California coast. Fully autonomous, it requires no support vessel for launch or recovery and can operate at sea for months before returning to port.
Boeing and Huntington Ingalls Industries announced June 8 they are working together on the design and production of unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) in support of the U.S. Navy's Extra Large UUV program.
"This partnership provides the Navy a cost-effective, low-risk path to meet the emergent needs that prompted the Navy's Advanced Undersea Prototyping program," said Darryl Davis, president of Boeing Phantom Works. "We are combining Boeing's preeminent UUV maritime engineering team with our nation's leading shipbuilder and Navy technical services company to get operational vehicles to the Navy years ahead of the standard acquisition process."
Boeing's announcement said it is currently testing its newest, largest UUV, Echo Voyager, off the Southern California coast. The vehicle could include a modular payload bay of up to 34 feet and is fully autonomous, requiring no support vessel for launch or recovery and able to operate at sea for months before returning to port.
"We look forward to a long relationship with Boeing as we embark together to field this unmanned force multiplier for the Navy," said Andy Green, executive vice president of Huntington Ingalls Industries and president of the company's Technical Solutions division. "I am confident this team will continue redefining the autonomy paradigm for UUVs."