Naval surface assets operate under constant threat from undersea adversaries. Our naval superiority relies heavily on the safety of our fleet. While safety and security are critical to mission capability and readiness, cost must not be ignored. RDA, Inc. proposes a novel, low-risk, low-cost Surface Ship Torpedo Defense (SSTD) solution using proven, existing fleet deployed Navy technology. By leveraging a currently developed product for an analogous problem, we expect to see significant cost savings and reduced deployment time to the fleet. RDA proposes to apply an existing solution suited for use on multiple types of surface ships and operational situations. In this proposal, we will demonstrate the performance capabilities of this solution to meet or exceed the performance requirements for the existing ADC Mk2 Mod 6 at a lower cost. We will also show that the proposed solution meets all necessary storage, deployment and operating environmental requirements for the surface ship. Our study includes a comparative analysis between the submarine and shipboard requirements. While the proposed solution will likely require some modification to meet the capabilities required for shipboard use, we believe that the overall engineering design costs will be minimized due to our ability to use components of an existing fielded product. Expansion to protection of commercial ships of high value is also a potential application by leveraging the techniques and systems engineering developed for the US Navy surface ships.
Benefit: RDA proposes a novel Phase I solution based on existing U.S. Navy technology that can successfully defend U.S. Navy ships against torpedo attacks. In this SBIR, we present a near-term/low-risk/low cost Plan that meets the requirements of the solicitation, and then build upon that with a longer-range Enhancement Plan having the potential for significant improvement in surface ship torpedo defense. RDA anticipates the Navy will realize an estimated 25% reduction in unit and overall life-cycle costs over the current ADC Mk2 Mod 6. We believe this will be achieved by leveraging existing proven Navy technology designed for other applications: this can eliminate significant development cost and reduces the need for extensive environmental qualification. Leveraging existing Navy technology that has undergone significant development and test will result in a low-risk approach. In addition to meeting the requirements of this Phase I SBIR, RDA also proposes a solution that extends the critical margin for ship torpedo evasion. Our forward strategy proposes an independent Enhancement Plan designed to provide both long-range torpedo detection and tracking as well as a decoy function based upon shorter range detection of the torpedo search/homing sonar. Our Commercialization Strategy is to leverage existing technology for cost effective torpedo countermeasures and apply it over a wide range of U.S. Navy surface ships and related programs. The focus of this SBIR will be to leverage the proven technology to perform the ADC Mk2 Mod 6 decoy function, and then transition this capability into the production sonobuoy via insertion of an electronics and firmware upgrade. We believe this approach will gain Navy interest for the torpedo detection capability and the significant potential it may imply for the fleet.
Keywords: Torpedo Defense, Torpedo Defense, Surface Ship, SSTD, Signal processing
