Morphing UAV to be Launched from Submarine

On 29th August 2006 a patent was filed at the US Patent Office on behalf of Lockheed-Martin Corp.. The patent is for the method of launch, recovery and re-launch of an immersible UAV. It was accompanied by this interesting image.

From what I can tell the UAV in the image appears to be a recent Lockheed Advanced Department/DARPA project; the morphing wing UAV recently displayed at the Paris airshow.

The full patent makes interesting reading and details how this idea could be used by a submerged submarine or a surface ship and how the UAV could be equipped with recon or attack payloads, making it effectively a multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle (MPUAV).

The UAV is also described in detail or at least its operation is. Inflatable covers would seal large openings such as the jet inlet and exhaust in conjunction with silicon seals on smaller joins and doors. The interior of the plane would also be pressurised with nitrogen to protect it from the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the sea. The UAV would be launched from an ICBM tube on a Trident sub and it would then float partially to the surface, rocket boosters would power it into the air where the covers over the engine inlets would retract and the jet engine would start. The rocket boosters would then be jettisoned. The UAV would also be buoyant so it could make either an engine-off “whip-stall” landing in the sea or a parachute landing on the water, it would not require any pontoons or additional floatation devices.

It even goes into detail of how a lead recon UAV could be launched which would identify time sensitive targets for following armed UAVs which would relay post-attack data back to the lead which would transmit back to the sub or ship. To me this definitely indicates a move towards a “swarm” of small recon and armed craft rather than one large aircraft.

Unfortunately 14 diagrams which accompany the patent are not available except the one included in this article, so additional information on the UAV used or detailed information on the recovery system is not available.

Interestingly the patent includes the phrase “the aircraft is preferably unmanned” perhaps leaving it open for using this procedure with a manned craft, though I personally think this is highly unlikely due to the engineering difficulties building a manned craft which can stand high external pressures under water and high internal pressure at high altitudes whilst incorporating a cabin at constant pressure and most likely a cockpit window.

In an article for Janes Defence Weekly in June 2005, Nick Cook writes that the Morphing UAV is three weeks from its first flight yet no confirmation of an actual flight is available. In the same article Cook describes a system similar to the one in the above patent but doesn’t go into as much detail and quotes manager of Lockheed Skunkworks, Frank Cappuccio saying that such a system will be tested in the following six to nine months. If Lockheed kept to this schedule the technology should have finished testing by April 2006.

Bill Sweetman also wrote about an aircraft very similar to the one described above in a February 2006 article for New Scientist. He gives the UAV the name “Cormorant” and describes it slightly differently to the Morphing UAV. Sweetmans version has “gull-wings” which don’t fold up like the images above but fold at their wing-root to wrap around the fuselage of the craft. Sweetman also states that some of the Cormorants “unique features” are being tested, this is scheduled to end September 2006 at which point a decision will be made whether to build a flying prototype. This certainly indicates to me that there were probably delays since Nick Cook’s article in June 2005, yet September 2006 has now passed so look out for press releases related to this technology. The article was accompanied by this artist’s impression.

In my opinion this design represents a significant step forward in the integration of autonomous vehicles into the military arsenal, something which will inevitably be seen more and more this decade. By using a UAV in this way, not only is it an innovative use for the trident missile tubes which are less and less relevant since the end of the cold war, but also an excellent covert tactical reconnaissance and attack tool. One or more of these MPUAVs could be sprung upon an enemy location, providing time-relevant surveillance and flexible ground attack.