Setting a new benchmark in the undersea domain, the US Navy is pushing the boundaries in undersea warfare with the introduction of Boeing’s Orca Extra-Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle. This next-generation autonomous submarine has been designed to operate across thousands of kilometers of vast ocean expanses without human intervention for mission execution.
The Orca XLUUV represents a quantum leap over the smaller tactical UUVs in service today, which require nearby support vessels with all their accompanying personnel and have limited endurance. The US Navy’s vision for the Orca is ambitious: these submarines are expected to travel from port to their operational areas, loiter, establish communications, deploy payloads, and return home autonomously.
The US Navy in October 2017 selected both Boeing and Lockheed Martin to take part in the design phase of the Orca XLUUV. Boeing had won a contract modification to supply five Orca XLUUVs along with associated support elements. Alan Baribeau, a US Naval Sea Systems Command spokesperson, doesn’t say as much. He describes it thus: “Multi-phased accelerated acquisition featuring a full and open competition to design, fabricate, test, and deliver systems to the US Navy.”
The Boeing design for Orca capitalizes on its Echo Voyager prototype, which has undergone extensive testing. A Boeing spokesperson reports that Echo Voyager has accumulated over 2,500 hours of ocean testing, operating at the surface, just below the surface, and underwater. The learnings from Echo Voyager have been infused into the design of Orca to enhance reliability while reducing associated risks.
The Echo Voyager boasts an impressive range of 6,500 nautical miles with up to months on a single fuel module. The underwater navigation is done using a Kalman-filtered inertial navigation unit, doppler velocity logs, and depth sensors. This vessel will be able to carry up to 56.6 cubic meters of modular payload and 7.3 tonnes of dry weight, powered by an 18kW battery.
Orca, according to Baribeau, will be able to carry all current and future payloads, sensors, autonomy, and other systems throughout the vehicle’s lifecycle because of its modular design. Specific missions and stealth capabilities for the Orca have not yet been specified, but it is beyond doubt that the US Navy is planning these vehicles to execute many different key operations.
A total of five Orca units will be delivered consecutively. The first one is expected by the end of the financial year 2020. Completion of the contract is expected by December 2022. Before becoming operational, the XLUUVs Orca will be integrated and tested with extreme intensity.
The UK Ministry of Defence is also making its initiatives in the potentialities of XLUUVs. This April, Dstl launched a competition worth £2.5m to develop autonomous control systems for XLUUVs, further improving covert intelligence gathering and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
Boeing’s Orca XLUUV represents a quantum leap in undersea warfare, featuring unparalleled operational endurance and autonomy. As the US Navy and other defense organizations continue to invest in these technologies, the future of maritime operations will be dominated by such advanced unmanned systems.