US defence technology company Lockheed Martin recently unveiled a new type of multi-mission autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).
Lamprey was built to satisfy the US Navy's need for an AUV capable of covert, assured access and sea denial operations.
Lockheed Martin said the AUV can arrive in-theatre with a fully charged battery. Mimicking nature, it can attach itself onto the hull of a host surface vessel or submarine, utilise hydrogenators to charge batteries, and arrive in-theatre ready for operational missions.
Lamprey can perform a wide range of missions including delivering undersea and air kinetic and non-kinetic effects; performing intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, targeting, and multi-intelligence collection; and deploying equipment to the seafloor.
The AUV's payload bay will have a volume of 24 cubic feet (0.7 cubic metre) and can accommodate various mission-specific equipment such as decoy countermeasures, sensors and UAV launchers and even anti-submarine torpedoes.
Lockheed Martin said Lamprey has already proven its autonomous manoeuvring and surveillance capabilities in at-sea exercises and tests.
