Popular Mechanics The absolute units would augment manned submarines, doing the dull and dangerous missions.
BY - A Department of Defense think tank recommends the U.S. Navy buy 50 extra large uncrewed undersea vehicles (XLUUVs) to complement the Navy’s crewed submarine fleet.
- XLUUVs would perform missions that don’t need complex, expensive crewed submarines or were too dangerous to risk a crew of 130 or more submariners.
- The submarines would also be considerably less expensive than crewed subs, allowing the Navy to grow the size of the fleet at minimal cost.
The Cost Assessment and Performance Evaluation (CAPE) office, an arm of the Department of Defense that analyzes military programs and provides analytic advice to the Secretary of Defense, is recommending the U.S. Navy go big on uncrewed undersea vehicles (XLUUVs), Defense News reports.
CAPE’s internal assessment of the U.S. Navy’s force structure recommends the service acquire 50 XLUUVs to complement the 50-plus crewed, nuclear attack submarines of the Los Angeles, Seawolf, and Virginia classes.
Most people think of submarines as ships that cruise underneath the sea, sinking enemy ships. In reality, the Navy’s attack submarine fleet performs a wide spectrum of missions, some recently acquired to keep the fleet relevant in the world of post-9/11 land warfare. According to the Navy, attack submarines:
“…are designed to seek and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships; project power ashore with Tomahawk cruise missiles and Special Operation Forces (SOF); carry out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions; support battle group operations; and engage in mine warfare.
Uncrewed XLUUVs will be smaller and cheaper than manned submarines. XLUUVs won’t act as replacements for crewed submarines; instead, they’ll do the boring and repetitive missions, like intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance.
In peacetime, that might mean instead of parking a $3 billion submarine with 130 submariners aboard off the coast of North Korea, the Navy would substitute a XLUUV. Freed from the dull mission of listening to and recording Pyongyang’s telephone conversations, the crewed submarine can instead train to do what it does best: locate, track, and sink enemy ships.
Uncrewed subs will also be useful for simple, yet dangerous missions. A Tomahawk land attack cruise missile has a range of about 1,000 miles. If enemy anti-submarine warfare forces make getting within range risky, an XLUUV could be loaded up with missiles instead.
U.S. submarines are also trained to lay minefields, but the best places to mine are typically heavily trafficked by enemy forces—think harbor entrances and straits. An XLUUV could sneak into position and sow a minefield without risking a single sailor. The sub could also perform the reverse mission, performing the dangerous mission of hunting and neutralizing mines.
XLUUVs could even work with crewed submarines to engage enemy forces. They could imitate a Virginia-class submarine, luring the anti-submarine ships and helicopters of an enemy carrier task force into chasing it. Meanwhile, the real Virginia-class sub might approach from a different direction and commence attack.
The Navy might lose a single uncrewed sub, but the enemy might lose an aircraft carrier. And that’s a good trade in anyone’s book.
