An Assessment of Undersea Weapons Science and Technology (2000) / Chapter Skim
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2 Assessment of the Office of Naval Research's Undersea Weapons Science and Technology Program
2 Assessment of the Office of Naval Research's Undersea Weapons Science and Technology Program
Pages 11-37
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From page 11... ...
funding for the ONR program is shown in Figure 2.1. Figure 2.2 depicts the funding history of the ONR undersea weapons program, including, since FY94, some 6.1 and other (e.g., congressional "plus ups")
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From page 12... ...
Lekoudis, "Undersea Weaponry Thrust," Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va., briefing to the committee, Washington, D.C., August 30, 1999. oxidation of nitrogen-containing compounds, nitration has been a successful approach to the synthesis of new generations of more effective explosives.
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Formulations with nonexplosive binders (usually commercial plastics) can reduce sensitivity at the cost of dilution and lost energy density.
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No example of this aspect of the research was presented. Finding: The programs on warheads at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head are good examples of research and development (R&D)
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Other propulsion S&T efforts include those on electrochemical energy sources, including fuel cells at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) , Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWC/CD)
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Enhanced processing and waveforms have the potential to significantly improve performance in a complicated signal environment. Further, the Torpedo Master Plan allows for improvements to be inserted into the inventory through preplanned product improvement.
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communicating weapons could be utilized. With broadband sensors and processing implemented on each weapon, an attack could be prosecuted wherein each weapon operates monostatically in its own band and bistatically in the band of the coordinating weapon.
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Improved weapon stealth and stealthy launch shorten the time available for an adversary to detect and identify an attack and then deploy effective countermeasures, and they improve the ability of the weapon to acquire a target by reducing self-induced noise. The ONR efforts in quieting technology for current and future torpedoes supports the PMS 404 (undersea weapons program office)
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From page 19... ...
so that all lift does not come from body lift, which can be developed only at high speeds. The committee believes that the ONR undersea weapons S&T program should explore a variety of hydrodynamic solutions to the hydroacoustic noise problem.
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Torpedo Defense Although the U.S. Navy devotes a large and continuing effort to defeating missile attacks against surface ships, the effort devoted to the protection of U.S.
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has been reported, many more difficult problems remain. The program is being used as a rallying point for other desirable activities such as the development of up-to-date design optimization tools and computational fluid dynamic techniques.
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The development efforts focus on collaborative environments for multiple users, optimization techniques, simulation environments for performance evaluation, and physics-based models to faithfully represent hydrodynamics, propulsion, warhead effects, and so forth. A number of initial applications were cited, including the Common Broadband Advanced Sonar System, the low-endurance, low-frequency active surveillance, and the 6.25-in.
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Although ONR undersea weapons S&T is tightly coupled to Program Manager, Naval Sea Systems Command (PMS) 404's road map and so is of necessity evolutionary in nature, the committee observes 1See Appendix B for further details.
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Given that the negative buoyancy of current torpedoes is driving the need for high speed and that their range is limited by their tethers, the need to quiet the MK-48 torpedo could be eliminated by replacing it with slow-moving UUVs loaded with sensors and explosives, as needed. While there is at least some ONR effort on the technology of communications and unmanned undersea vehicles, there is no work in the undersea weapons program on air-launched direct-attack weapons and offensive mines.
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From page 25... ...
The committee believes that establishing more useful interactions between the management of the ONR undersea weapons S&T program, the DARPA undersea warfare program, and the ONR antisubmarine warfare S&T program would result in a more modern and forward-looking approach to undersea weapons research. Missing or Inadequately Addressed Undersea Weapons S&T The committee believes that ONR's undersea weapons S&T program should be planned and implemented in a broader context than was evident from the ONR presentations.
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Acoustic methodology has long been the primary means of underwater communication and target identification and location, and the Navy has consistently been a leading performer in this area. The intention of the present ONR undersea weapons S&T program to make full use of the acoustic bandwidth available is endorsed by the committee.
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This is not a criticism of the ONR undersea weapons S&T program per se but alludes to a broader issue. Members of the committee believe this lack is a serious problem and address it as a major issue in Chapter 3.
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SOURCE: Juergen G Keil, "Summary: NUWC Weapon Perspectives," Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, R.I., beefing to the committee, November 10, 1999.
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Section III of the Navy master plan suggests it has chosen the latter.7 Whatever the strategy, a situation in which there is no significant procurement of torpedoes virtually ensures that there will not be any substantial industrial investment in related science and technology. Figure 2.4 shows the recent history of the procurement of torpedoes from industry.
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the Applied Research Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University, where the Navy' s R&D efforts on guidance and control, propulsion, and hydrodynamics are centered, and (3) the Naval Surface Warfare Center facility at Indian Head, Maryland, where work related to warheads and energetic materials is concentrated.
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From page 31... ...
SOURCE: Juergen G Keil, "Summary: NUWC Weapon Perspectives," Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, R.I., briefing to the committee, November 10, 1999.
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torpedoes. Box 2.2 notes a recent assessment by the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations for Antisubmarine Warfare Requirements (New.
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To date, the few institutions engaged in undersea weapons S&T have been able to maintain their performer base with not too much difficulty. However, the committee believes that if the nation decided to increase its level of effort, it might be very difficult to quickly augment the undersea weapons S&T community.
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Undersea weapons S&T is not viewed as an attractive career path, and the current knowledge-base pipeline, while able to support current program activities, would be hard pressed to support the level of activity required for development of nextgeneration weapon systems, which will reflect increased levels of sophistication in virtually all the critical technology areas. Facilities and Equipment There is no shortage of test facilities such as water tunnels and towing tanks in the United States.
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From page 35... ...
PROGRAM FUNDING AND TRANSITION ISSUES Program Funding and Funding Trends Because the committee was unable to get a clear picture from the funding data provided by ONR, it could not accurately judge how well these undersea weapons S&T programs have been funded in relation to the 1996 Department of the Navy master plan.8 Currently planned 6.2 and 6.3 (BA2 and BA3) funding for the ONR programs is shown in Figure 2.1.
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From page 36... ...
The ONR program is so well integrated indeed, too well integrated into the programs administered by PMS 404 that it has become largely evolutionary in nature. In summary, ONR undersea weapons S&T programs are too tightly integrated with programs in higher-order-budget categories, and basic and applied research that could lead to revolutionary weapons is being neglected.
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From page 37... ...
In answer to the second key question in the terms of reference, namely, the extent to which undersea weapons S&T depends on Navy-sponsored R&D, the committee believes that undersea weapons involve the development of special technologies, adaptation of these and other technologies to the undersea environment, and unique integrations of all these technologies into a weapon. In the United States the only sustained support for these kinds of efforts to develop and produce undersea weapons comes from the U.S.
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