UK DefenceJournal
UK to develop �concepts of operation� for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
By
George Allison
-
November 25, 2021
The Royal Navy will shortly be issuing a contract opportunity notice for a requirement to develop Concepts of Operation (CONOPS) for the future use of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV).
The service has issued a �Prior Information Notice� in order to give notice to the market of the upcoming contract opportunity and provide the opportunity for collaboration within industry.
�The requirement needs to be delivered by the end of the financial year 21/22 and is expected to have a budget of �0.4m (Ex VAT), the upcoming notice will be OFFICIAL however the contract deliverables will be classified SECRET.
The contract will comprise of three non-lethal mission sets (Anti-Submarine/Surface Warfare; Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance; and Seabed Warfare); these will be used by the study to consider AUV operational employment over the next 30 years. In each of the three cases, the output comprises a CONOPS including the full range of operational employment of vehicle and systems and an outline of the likely operational constraints, particularly technical challenges.
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