DARPA Upward Falling Payload

[Grey Havoc]

Paging Mr. David Mace, Paging Mr. Greg Bear.

Via Slashdot: DARPA wants to dot ocean floor with network of robotic pods that can spy, explore (NETWORKWORLD)

The UFP system is envisioned to consist of three key subsystems, DARPA says:

• The 'payload' which executes waterborne or airborne applications after being deployed to the surface
• The UFP 'riser' which provides pressure tolerant encapsulation and launch (ascent) of the payload
• The UFP communications which triggers the UFP riser to launch. A multi-phase effort is envisioned to design, develop, and demonstrate UFP systems.

http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2013/01/11.aspx
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=bd2a1c485b10d572ceb7d9ef5d3e6688&tab=core&_cview=0
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=1e555e8ec3787f793fa4d34810159ac8&tab=core&_cview=0

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE AND DESCRIPTION:
Cost and complexity limit the number of ships and weapon systems the Navy can support in forward operating areas. This concentration of force structure is magnified as areas of contested environments grow. A natural response is to develop lower-cost unmanned and distributed systems that can deliver effects and situation awareness at a distance. However, power and logistics to deliver these systems over vast ocean areas limit their utility. The Upward Falling Payload (UFP) program intends to overcome these barriers. The objective of the UFP program is to realize a new approach for enabling forward deployed unmanned distributed systems that can provide non-lethal effects or situation awareness over large maritime areas. The approach centers on pre-deploying deep-ocean nodes years in advance in forward areas which can be commanded from standoff to launch to the surface. The UFP system is envisioned to consist of three key subsystems: (1) The ‘payload' which executes waterborne or airborne applications after being deployed to the surface, (2) The UFP ‘riser' which provides pressure tolerant encapsulation and launch (ascent) of the payload, and (3) The UFP communications which triggers the UFP riser to launch. A multi-phase effort is envisioned to design, develop, and demonstrate UFP systems.

 

[2IDSGT]

Advanced technology left on the bottom for 3rd word trawlers to drag up. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Rafael]

Advanced technology left on the bottom for 3rd word trawlers to drag up. What could possibly go wrong?

Did it happen to SOSUS nodes?

 

[TomS]

Advanced technology left on the bottom for 3rd word trawlers to drag up. What could possibly go wrong?

Did it happen to SOSUS nodes?

Maybe not to SOSUS, but certainly did with various sonobouys and other expendables. Thing is, expendable sensors don't have to be super-sophisticated, especially if you push the processing off-board.

 

[2IDSGT]

Advanced technology left on the bottom for 3rd word trawlers to drag up. What could possibly go wrong?

Did it happen to SOSUS nodes?

Just a hunch, but I'm guessing that DARPA doesn't really have the North Atlantic and the GIUK gap (which was pretty much under our control) in mind here. Also, if SOSUS nodes were that sophisticated, I'd love to know more about it.

Damn, TomS kinda beat me to it.

 

[Rafael]

Thanks, TomS and 2IDSGT, I've always wondered what would be the risk of having unattended hardware resting on the bottom, security-wise

 

[TomS]

There are also plenty of countermeasures that you can take to protect hardware like this. One option: if the outside water pressure changes significantly without the activation command being received, the onboard software gets erased. That would make recovery a much more involved process than just trawling it up from the sea floor.

 

[Grey Havoc]

There are also plenty of countermeasures that you can take to protect hardware like this. One option: if the outside water pressure changes significantly without the activation command being received, the onboard software gets erased. That would make recovery a much more involved process than just trawling it up from the sea floor.

A thermite charge or similar in addition would be a good idea.

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/nation/2014/03/13/pentagon-upward-falling-payloads/6371505/

The Upward Falling Payloads pods, DARPA records show, would be targeted for the almost 50% of global waters that are more than 4 kilometers deep. Those waters, DARPA notes, provide "vast areas for concealment and storage. ... Concealment provided by the sea also provides the opportunity to quickly engage remote assets that may have been dormant and undetected for long periods of time, while its vastness allows simultaneous operation across great distances.

"Getting close to objects without warning, and (activating) distributed systems without delay," DARPA records show, "are key attributes of UFP capability."

 

[Grey Havoc]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBriUcgZBrs

http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2014/04/upwards-falling-payloads/

 

[jsport]

Protection from extreme underwater pressures for yrs while still being able to fly would appear to not be in the practical future. Most open ocean is not watched in detail so why such depths..

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/14/pentagon-drones-to-burst-from-secret-ocean-pods-at/