Darpa wants to equip submarine modules with drones in the long term

Together with the US Navy, Darpa is looking for companies that want to develop weapons that normally rest in a module on the seabed. When they receive a signal, the modules float to the surface to launch drones or release sensors, for example.

The American military research institute Darpa has started applications for companies that can submit proposals for the construction of so-called upward falling payloads. These modules should be able to be placed on the seabed by the US Navy and would contain various types of non-lethal weapons. These UFPs must be able to work for years, but after an activation signal they must come to the surface and, for example, launch a drone or release sensors. Also called jamming equipment.

Darpa thinks the weapons could be useful in places where there are no US military bases nearby. For example, in the event of unexpected threats, the navy would still be able to gather information in these areas within two hours of activating the ‘sleeping’ modules. In addition to the condition that the UFPs must continue to function at a depth of 6 km for at least five years, there is a conscious emphasis on non-lethal loads; Darpa is afraid that armed modules, which can lie kilometers deep on the seabed and are therefore difficult to store if the batteries are empty, could pose a risk to shipping.

In a first phase of the research into suitable hardware for the construction of upward falling payloads, the two American companies Sparton and Zeta have already worked on prototypes and concepts. In the second phase, the hardware must be tested at sea. For this phase, Darpa has about $21 million left in grants, while less than half a million dollars was spent in the first round.