13
10 nm X 10 nm Network Hub
Architecture Refinement with TSSE/SEA-8 Collaboration
•1 Large UUV (*Sea Predator)
•1 Sled equipped with deployable RF buoy, acoustic modem, docking transducers, coupling two 21” diameter shapes
•6 Light Weight UUVs – four for power, two for sensor processing and communications control
•16 man-portable sensor and wire deployment vehicles
* Sea Predator, David DeMartino, NAVSEA Panama City
TSSE Design
The fundamental building block of our network is a central hub responsible for detecting, tracking, and classifying contacts of interest, and forwarding critical target data.  Our workhorse is the large UUV called Sea Predator, this is an autonomous version of the Seal Delivery Vehicle which was presented in a Postgraduate School Mennekin Lecture in July by David DeMartino from NAVSEA in Panama City.  NAVSEA mechanical engineer Steven Albertson provided the TSSE team with Sea Predator 3D CAD files to which we were able to add our own features.

Our Sea Predator carries a heavy external payload, this sled is essentially a motherboard for our fixed network.  It includes a built in acoustic modem, deployable communications buoy,  docking transducers, and hydrophones.
Two  21” diameter shapes fixed to the sled serve as box launchers for man-portable deployment vehicles and their respective spools of data transmission cable.
The Sea Predator carries an internal payload of six LWV’s, 4 of these provide the hub with power while the other 2 handle sensor processing and communications functions.