ROBOTS: Hydra – The Undersea Drone with Drones of its Own

1 May 2014

 

            Cut one head off and two more grow back?  It’s from Greek mythology.  The creature’s name was Hydra.  DARPA has given the same name to a planned unmanned vehicle.  This underwater drone would do little in terms of actual “engagement.”  Instead, it would be “stocked” with drones of every imaginable kind.  Traveling to various hot spots, the Hydra would deploy the numbers and kinds of drones needed to do the job – whatever that job might be.

            The Hydra has been called an underwater version of an aircraft carrier.  Not designed so much to engage in combat or reconnaissance, the Hydra, like the aircraft carrier, is intended to transport items designed for these very purposes.  But, unlike the aircraft carrier, the Hydra is both unmanned and a “submarine” vehicle – tagged with the acronym, UUV, unmanned underwater vehicle.

See: Photos of the Day: The Hydra underwater drone

            A DARPA sponsored presentation of the project was made on “Proposer’s Day” at John’s Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.   The Hydra program’s goal was described as the development of an “unmanned air and undersea system” to deliver “unmanned air and underwater vehicles into operational environments.”

            When you think about it, you realize that building the Hydra also requires building a fleet of drones of every variety with extremely diverse functions.  Just to fill-in a few details, the Hydra doesn’t just carry its payload as it travels underwater, its drones are actually deployed underwater.  Some of the deployed drones could perform their functions underwater.  Others could rise to the surface and continue to operate as unmanned surface vehicles.  Still others could rise to the surface and take off into the air -- becoming airborne.  [view image]

            Although the Hydra is unmanned, this doesn’t mean that it couldn’t be equipped with deployable drones that could, themselves, transport human beings in emergencies. DARPA engineers are considering the design of a “submersible” “capsule” for the transportation of troops.  Again, the troops wouldn’t be passengers in the Hydra.  Rather, the Hydra would deploy a drone able to pick up troops at one location and take them to another location.  The resulting stealth delivery would assist in rescue operations as well as the surgical strike type of military operation. 

            The Hydra’s program manager, Scott Littlefield, has pointed out the economic savings resulting from the use of unmanned technology in the development of underwater defense strategies.  Littlefield sees these unmanned technologies as providing a way to expand our defense capabilities even with tightening budgets. 

DARPA goes deep: New Hydra project to see underwater drones deploying drones

            Clearly, drone technology would be much cheaper to deploy and operate than similar manned technologies.  Historically, submarines, for example, costly, inflexible (slow) in response compared to this proposed drone technology.  Submarines have also presented unavoidable dangers to human crews as well as a good deal of discomfort.

Hydra Program [view video]

            The sheer extent of underwater coverage promised by the development of the Hydra is unprecedented.  The hydra program would maintain a presence beneath all the relatively shallow waters of not only the seas, but also the world’s river systems. But what about the deep seas . . . ?

            Not to worry.

            Complementing the UVV’s of the Hydra program would be the “pods” and “modules” of the UFP program.  The UFP (upward falling payloads) program would place pods containing supply modules and drones on the deep sea floors.  Because of the extremely depth (more than two and a half miles), the pods would quite difficult to access.  On the one hand, the depth provides the perfect stealth.  On the other hand, the access difficulties make it necessary that the pods be designed and stocked to last years at a time. 

UFP [view image]

            Like the Hydra, the UFP pods would be filled with supply modules and drones that could be delivered to the ocean’s surface when needed.  And the delivery is the easiest part of the system.  The modules and drones would be buoyant, lighter than water.  Upon release, with water pressure at the deep sea floor, the drones and/or modules don’t just float, but seem to rush to the surface so quickly that it looks like . . . “falling upward.” Hence, “upward falling payloads.”

ROBOTS: Upward Falling? A New Generation of Undersea Drones

            The Hydra and UFP programs are part of a new wave of logistically oriented drone systems.  The new emphasis can be seen with another DARPA program to compliment the familiar aerial combat drone. DARPA, together with Lockheed Martin, is working to develop not only unmanned aircraft, but unmanned land vehicles to supply soldiers in combat. 

Thursday 1 May 2014

GCLM5444HOxenia

DARPA: Hydra Program

DARPA Hydra, here comes the mothership designed to deploy drones

What SNL did for the land shark, Lockheed Martin may be doing for the “land drone.”  See: Army, Lockheed to test drones-only mission, by air and land