Defense Innovation Unit joins Navy’s hunt for a new large undersea drone

A large unmanned undersea vehicle being developed by Leidos and Nauticus Robotics. Leidos executives recently told reporters they are considering a response to the Navy’s  request for information about commercially available LDUUVs. (Photo courtesy of Leidos)

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon agency known for its ability to quickly tap into Silicon Valley’s rapid technology development has joined the Navy in its renewed hunt for a commercially available large unmanned undersea vehicle.

“The U.S. Navy lacks the ability to have dispersed, long-range, persistent underwater sensing and payload delivery in contested environments without utilizing sailors aboard strategic submarine assets,” the Defense Innovation Unit wrote in a new online solicitation.

“The Navy is looking to supplement its submarine force with large diameter, scalable, (relatively) low-cost autonomous unmanned systems with persistent reach (range and depth) and payload capacity in the execution of intelligence preparation of the environment (IPOE) and subsea and seabed warfare (SSW) mission sets,” the agency added.

It’s not clear when exactly DIU’s request was published, but the agency is seeking responses no later than July 28, a deadline that speaks to the speed at which the Navy is looking to move following the cancellation of its previous plans to develop and build an exquisite Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle.

In its request, DIU provides a glimpse into the minimum capabilities the Navy is seeking from any UUV purchased off the shelf, including the ability to reach 2500 meters in depth and transit 200 nautical miles in open ocean. DIU also states submissions should be capable of “easily” integrating payloads for autonomous control as well as “modular communication payloads with subsea, surface and aerial platforms as needed.”

The request for commercial solutions does not provide any details about the Pentagon’s budget for potential awards except to say that “any prototype Other Transaction agreement awarded in response to this area of interest may result in the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of further competitive procedures.”

“It is the DIU’s intent to host in-person phase II evaluations at [Naval Undersea Warfare Center] Newport. Selected phase II participants will be expected to showcase and prove their proposed solutions capabilities and attributes in water testing locations within approximately three weeks of this AOI closure,” according to the notice.

DIU’s notice follows the Navy’s own request for information published last week seeking industry’s input on potential LDUUVs, a solicitation made in response to a congressional directive included in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.

The Navy’s previous acquisition strategy for LDUUV involved the government developing its own design in-house and industry eventually bidding to produce it. Although the second phase never came to fruition, the program did attract numerous industry vendors who spent time and money aiding the program’s advancement, such as General Atomics and Leidos. Speaking to a small group of reporters last Friday, Leidos executives indicated they had reviewed the Navy’s initial request for information and were considering a response.