Expanding Missions for Small Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUVs)

摘要

Small unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs), those less than 150 pounds, have many advantages for field operations over the larger models. The increase in number and capabilities of these vehicles is opening doors for an ever expanding number of applications. Current and anticipated mission areas will be discussed, including hydrographic survey, mine countermeasure survey/ classify/map, target reacquisition and identification, chemical detection and plume mapping, and harbor security. New trends in applicable technologies will be described and recommendations made for the further development and use of small UUVs. Published in Proceedings of OMAE0.3, 22i0 International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, June 8-13, 2003, Cancun, Mexico, pp. 1-4.