U.S. military is on the hunt for killer UUVs

The Silicon Valley-headquartered Defense Innovation Unit released a new solicitation Wednesday for unmanned underwater vehicles, including “one-way attack” systems.

Via its commercial solutions opening contracting mechanism, DIU is trying to find solutions that meet the U.S. military’s need for undersea kamikaze drones and UUVs that can be launched from submarines.

To address the first challenge, the organization is looking for hunter-killer systems that can be deployed from a government-provided platform or pier.

“The host vessels can either be surface or housed subsurface and most likely be uncrewed. The vehicle must be able to deliver a payload with the speed and endurance necessary to hone in and interdict a static or moving target,” per the solicitation for low-cost “undersea effectors.”

The Defense Department is aiming to acquire systems that are about 12.75 inches in diameter, 120 inches in length, and less than or equal to 800 pounds while equipped with government-furnished payloads.

To address the second challenge, DIU is also on the hunt for UUVs that can be launched and recovered via a torpedo tube without the need for drivers.

“The Vehicle should operate for at least 2 days and/or 120 nautical miles while operating with a payload,” officials wrote. “The proposed UUV should be able to support multiple communication pathways to the host submarine. Tethered options will be considered. Accurate long-range navigation systems limiting the need for GPS, transponders, or bottom lock is preferred.”

The system must not be more than 21 inches in diameter and 256 inches in length, according to the solicitation.

DIU noted that the DOD has a critical need for “affordable small and medium” UUVs that can perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and expeditionary missions.

“Current and legacy systems are designed to be multi-mission, exquisite systems requiring long production timelines, significant training, reconfiguration prior to mission, and technical experts to process data. However, there are situations where a single use, mission specific UUV can be more desirable to the end user in the kinetic, ISR, and expeditionary domains,” officials wrote.

DIU has played a major role in the Pentagon’s Replicator initiative, which aims to add thousands of low-cost uncrewed systems and counter-drone platforms to the U.S. military’s arsenal. The solicitation released Wednesday didn’t explicitly say whether it was tied to Replicator efforts, but it appears to be focused on those types of technologies.

Industry responses to the solicitation are due July 24.

The DOD is looking to award other transaction agreements.

“Companies are advised that any prototype OT agreement awarded in response to this [effort] … may result in the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of further competitive procedures. The follow-on production contract or transaction will be available for use by one or more organizations in the Department of Defense and, as a result, the magnitude of the follow-on production contract or agreement could be significantly larger than that of the prototype OT,” officials wrote.