While submarines have deployed with UUVs in the past, the TTL&R option allows for ease of system deployment and retrieval, increasing capability, reach, and manoeuvre in the undersea domain.
Vice Admiral Rob Gaucher, the US Navy’s Commander Submarine Forces, told the Naval Leaders’ Combined Naval Event 2024 (CNE 24) conference in Farnborough, UK in late May:
“We’re going to install UUVs on a submarine, USS Delaware, starting in a couple of weeks, and they will deploy by the end of the year,”
“We’re already looking at who’s going to be next to start installing, so that we continuously have a submarine-operated vehicle,” Vice Adm Gaucher added.
Delaware is a Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN). Commissioned in April 2020, the Block III Virginia boat is the 18th of a planned force level of 66 Virginia hulls.
Vice Adm Gaucher explained that delivering a fully integrated SSN-based UUV capability is a key development priority, as part of building the USN submarine force’s future operational posture. “From my perspective, we are not operating UUVs enough in the submarine force,” he added.
This capability development process will be accelerating in 2024, Vice Adm Gaucher said. Delaware’s deployment will involve an HII REMUS 600 UUV. This type of UUV was launched from the Delaware’s torpedo tube and was recovered the same way during a test in late 2023.
“The intent is we’ll start installing it in about a month, Delaware will deploy about six months later, and then – when the boat gets over to the European theatre – we’re going to look for opportunities to do exercises,” said Vice Adm Gaucher. On deployment, the boat will be tasked by operational commanders in the region. “They’ll base that on what the exercise opportunities are, or what challenges they have that we might be able to employ those vehicles against,” the admiral added. “There are a number of different things we can do with the vehicles, and we’ll certainly look for every opportunity.”
“We want to get out there and get ‘sets and reps’,” said Vice Adm Gaucher.
In December 2023, Delaware was used in the navy’s second successful test of a TTL&R capability. The first test took place earlier that same month, in the Pacific.
Vice Adm Gaucher explained to the CNE 24 conference that a TTL&R capability is integral to bringing UUVs – an emerging technology being developed largely in the commercial world – into more regular current naval operational use.
The navy is still developing both its use of UUVs and TTL&R integration, and will spend the coming months trialling options for deploying the UUV from Delaware. “We just need to get out and operate,” said Vice Adm Gaucher. “Sure, there is a chance things don’t go right – but we need to take the training wheels off and learn faster, particularly when we can shift risk from people to robots.”
The TTL&R capability is an example of new concepts and technologies being developed under Pillar 2 of the trilateral AUKUS (Australia/UK/US) strategic partnership. Development of the capability demonstrates how the three navies are now starting to move out on delivering outputs from Pillar 2, Vice Adm Gaucher said.
TTL&R for UUVs will also help SSNs contribute to subsea and seabed warfare operations. “Seabed warfare is a burgeoning area …. Everybody recognises the need to defend our underwater infrastructure,” said Vice Adm Gaucher. Uncrewed capabilities like remotely operated vehicles are a primary option for use in defending or attacking seabed infrastructure. “That’s another priority we’re going to move out on, and start building the ‘sets and reps’ to be able to cover that mission area,” he added.
Overall, Vice Adm Gaucher concluded, “We’re going to push to more exercises and development, to be able to realise our goal to do more and more uncrewed [activities]. We’re ready to get the curve bending, to drive exponential growth in how often we’re operating our uncrewed systems.”
