The US Navy will have an unmanned submarine next year. A U.S. DoD release said Boeing had been awarded the modification contract for manufacture and testing of an Orca XLUUV Test Asset System.
“The Boeing Co. is awarded a $72,5 mln contract modification to previously awarded contract for all efforts, tooling and equipment, and materials for the design, manufacture, and testing of an Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Test Asset System. Work will be expected to be completed by August 2023.” — said spokesman of U.S. Department of Defense.
usni.org
The Orca dates back to September 2017, when the Navy issued contracts worth about $40 mln each to Boeing, which had partnered earlier in the year with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) to build unmanned submarines; and Lockheed Martin to develop competing designs for an XLUUV capable of autonomous operation on missions up to several months in duration.
The basic Orca design shares a 16m length with Echo Voyager, but the Orca will incorporate a more modular construction, primarily for the capability to be built with an additional payload module of up to 10m long and a capacity of 8 tons for a total length of 26m.
The Navy specified the ability to adapt the Orca platform according to mission, with the ability for surveillance, submerged, surface, and electronic combat, and minesweeping. The vessel will be powered by a hybrid diesel/lithium-ion battery system, which powers the Orca by battery while submerged and recharges the batteries with diesel generators while surfaced. Maximum speed is 8 knots (15 km/h), though the typical service speed is about 3 knots (5.6 km/h), which gives the Orca a range of up to 10,500 km with an endurance of several months.
