U.S Navy will have a new innovative gadget. The service will acquire AeroVironment's
Blackwing UAV which can be launched from below the sea surface.
A request for proposal (RFP) on the U.S. government’s contracting website
beta.SAM.gov, revealed that the Naval Sea Systems Command
(NAVSEA) plans to buy up to 120 Blackwing 10C UAVs.
This comes at a time when near-peer rivals like China and Russia
are trying to match the U.S Navy on different aspects.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why U.S. Navy is procuring Blackwing UAVs for
deployment from submarines? Let's get into the details.
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Submarines are a crucial component of the U.S military.
U.S Navy submarines can hunt down enemy warships and submarines,
carry out precision land attacks and also are responsible for nuclear deterrence.
The importance of the submarine can be gauged by the fact
that the 14 Ballistic Missile Submarines of Ohio class together carry approximately 50%
of the total US active inventory of strategic thermonuclear warheads.
It is critical that the situational awareness of U.S Navy submarines be enhance
so that they stay one step ahead.
One way will be to use submarine-launched UAVs.
U.S Navy Rear Admiral Blake Converse, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, explained in
an online presentation last year. “Consider a submarine-deployed
unmanned aircraft as a flying periscope able to dramatically extend our submarines’
organic sensor range, provide target-quality sensor data back to the submarine, or to a
joint force capability, and enable Harpoon and Maritime Strike Tomahawk missile engagements”
In a 2013 briefing of the Advanced Weapons Enhanced by Submarine UAS against Mobile targets
or AWESUM program, the U.S Navy said the Blackwing could communicate with submarines antennas and
provide targeting information to aircraft through Link 16 data links. The Blackwings can also be
weaponized to provide additional protection to submarines operating closer to shore.
The program was developed in conjunction with U.S. Special
Operations Command (SOCOM) and could also provide information,
surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) for Special Operations Forces (SOF).
The RFP stated “AeroVironment is the only known responsible source that possesses the facilities,
tooling, equipment, manufacturing expertise, and technical expertise to provide the required
Blackwing 10C UAVs within the government’s required delivery and ordering period,”
It is clear the U.S Navy is committed to Blackwing.
AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) based in California, is a global provider of unmanned aircraft systems,
tactical missile systems, and electric vehicle charging and test systems.
It has been serving militaries, government agencies, businesses.
Viewers may note that AeroVironment has delivered tens of thousands of small UAVs to customers
within the United States and to more than 30 international governments.
Blackwing has wingspan 27 in (68.6 cm) and length of 19.5 in (49.5 cm).
It has a weight of 4 lb or 1.81 kg. Blackwing has an inertial/GPS autopilot system
and a secure digital data link to communications with the launching submarine.
The company states that it incorporates an advanced,
miniature electro-optical and infrared sensor for rapid-response intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance, and the modular payload bay enables a range of mission objectives.
The modular payload means that there are technically many possibilities - for example,
Blackwing could potentially be used to deploy small sonobuoys.
An armed variant of Blackwing could come into the picture in the future.
Blackwing can be launched from both submerged submarines
and from unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). AeroVironment had begun developing Blackwing in
2006 using technology inherent in the company’s backpack transportable Switchblade design.
In 2016, U.S. Navy personnel demonstrated the use of a submarine-launched Blackwing.
Blackwing UAV linked with a swarm of unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) and communicate
with the submarine combat control system during the Annual Naval Technology Exercise
(ANTX) at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport Division.
During the ANTX exercise, an AeroVironment-developed, government-owned,
secure digital data link (DDL), integrated into all Blackwing UAVs and was used to relay real-time
information from the surrogate manned submarine via the Blackwing UAV to and from multiple UUVs.
Apart from using the Blackwing as a flying periscope,
a group of these could be deployed in 'Swarm' mode.
The technology of swarming is in which UAVs as well as smart munitions will be deployed in
squadrons, able to think independently and operate as a pack using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
This concept will allow thousands of independent units to act as one
This technology is in its infancy,
but militaries around the world are putting in a lot of resources on this.
This could increase the surveillance capacity exponentially.
Rivals of the U.S are not sitting idle.
For example, Russia has worked to enhance its naval capabilities since 2000.
The latest variant of the Russian Kilo-class submarine represents a significant evolution.
It was demonstrated in 2017 when out of the blue, a series of cruise missiles tore
through the air towards targets around Syria’s besieged city of Palmyra.
They came from the Kilo-class submarine Krasnodar
which remained undetected before the missile launch.
The submarine was able to move from Libya to Syria a distance of more than 2000 km or 1242 miles
undetected even when a significant number of NATO assets were trying to track it.
Krasnodar was dubbed 'Black Hole' by some analysts.
U.S Navy needs to up the game and it seems now it is embracing submarine-launched UAVs
in general and Blackwing specifically. Blackwing has the potential to provide
U.S Navy with an upper hand going forward. It is likely many interesting developments
will be coming in this field and its remains to be seen how things will pan out.