The US Navy plans to restart its Snakehead Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (LDUUV) program this year.
The Snakehead LDUUV program witnessed a lull in activity following a lack of funding for the program in FY23. Following the completion of the first Phase, the program was originally scheduled to move forward with its second Phase,
This year, the Navy will restart demonstrations and experiments with the single prototype it currently has in inventory. Testing will include deployment of the system from surface vessels of opportunity.
During this period, the Navy also plans to refurbish and upgrade the prototype UUV, which was christened by the Navy in February of 2022.
The Navy plans to conduct market research for Phase 2 of the program in FY23 to FY24. This market research will help the Navy evaluate commercially available UUVs, and see if any particular UUV meets the Navy’s requirements for the program.
Naval Systems Command (NAVSEA) previously issued a DRAFT Request For Proposal (RFP) to industry for the LDUUV program in 2020.
In 2019, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) won a contract award to develop and demonstrate a prototype Lithium-ion Fault Tolerant (LiFT) battery system for the LDUUV prototype.
The single prototype in use with the Navy currently was developed by the government with heavy industry involvement. The Navy plans to transition this prototype to the Fleet in 2025.
About the Snake LDUUV
The Snakehead Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (LDUUV) is the largest Submarine-launched UUV currently in US Navy inventory. The system is meant to give US Navy platforms increased endurance, depth capability, and payload capacity beyond those of small and medium sized UUVs.
The UUV has a modular, reconfigurable payload section and is meant to be deployed from Dry Deck Shelters (DDS) since the UUV is larger than a standard torpedo tube. The system is also designed to be deployed from surface ships such as the Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) or else other Vessels Of Opportunity (VOO)
