ANNAPOLIS, Md., Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Northrop Grumman Corp. will develop the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel concept under a $2 million contract.
Under terms of the award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Northrop is to develop by March the concept, specifications and manufacturing plan for the persistent, autonomous vessel that can perform ASW tracking and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance functions.
"Our ACTUV solution will include a feasible vehicle that will be capable of quickly transitioning into an operational system -- like the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, which flew in just 33 months," said Robert DuBeau, vice president of Northrop Grumman's Undersea Systems business unit. "With our extensive experience in undersea and surface systems, we are well positioned to advance the state of the art in USVs."
The ACTUV is intended to trail and monitor targets autonomously.
Northrop Grumman said its ACTUV team includes Harris Inc. of Melbourne, Fla.; Spatial Integrated Systems of Virginia Beach, Va.; Vehicle Control Technologies Inc. of Reston, Va.; Pennsylvania State University; and the Advanced Research Laboratory of State College, Pa.
