Skunk Works; UAVs that launch from, and return to, the sea

Skunk Works; UAVs that launch from, and return to, the sea

Heard it all yet? How about a submarine launched – and recovered – unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Nice thought but just a dream – well the folks at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works will be testing their submarine recovery system for a Multi Purpose UAV within six to nine months says Frank Cappuccio, vice president and general manager.

In a rare and candid presentation on the second day of the Paris Airshow, Cappuccio expanded on his organisation’s ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking regarding UAVs. The submarine launch and recovery takes the morphing UAV one step further. The research is government funded and will be taken forward only if the recovery technique is proved. “We already know we can launch underwater,” says Cappuccio.

The intention is to house the MPUAV in the silo of a Trident submarine, wings folded, then launch it while underwater on a rail using compressed gas, fly it out up to a range of around 500 miles at a sub Mach speed, then once the mission is over drop it back into the ocean for the submarine to recover and re-use.

“The engine people weren’t at all keen on us running water through the engine on the recovery process,” joked Cappuccio, “so the airframe must be watertight and feature on-board pressurisation.” Trials will feature a drop-test (probably full size as Cappuccio doesn’t believe these things – seals etc – scale well for testing purposes) and recovery. The first tests will be proving the concept rather than running to a schedule – which will come later if the concept gets green lights.