The LCS will be the first Navy ship designed up front to accommodate a broad range of modular mission packages. Initial packages will focus on antisubmarine, antisurface, and mine warfare, and as technologies are developed and tested, the Navy is already seeing the advantages.
Sensors are moving off-hull. When sensors no longer are organic to the ship, they provide eyes and ears well beyond the line of sight to alert operational commanders to threats lurking outside their immediate areas. For example, sensors on the semisubmersible Remote Minehunting System (RMS) can alert its host ship to the existence and location of mines in time for steps to be taken to avoid or neutralize them. RMS also can be adapted for antisubmarine warfare (ASW) by employing active sonars and towed array receivers. It can perform these missions alone or in conjunction with other unmanned sensors, such as the Advanced Deployable System, a series of acoustic sensors laid on the ocean floor and connected by cable to a data transmission buoy. Given the increased need for active sonar to detect quiet diesel submarines, offboard active sources will avoid the acoustic transmissions that allow unfriendly forces to locate U.S. Navy ships.
Unmanned systems are taking people out of harm's way. A range of technologies being developed for mission modules will operate on unmanned underwater, surface, and airborne systems. For example, the unmanned surface vehicle Spartan-a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) with an enhanced engine and high-tech camera and sensor gear-is adaptable to different surface ships and programmable for different missions. Instead of putting an entire ship at risk, Spartan can detect threats while being remotely operated from a safe distance. The Navy envisions only one or two people will be needed to program and launch Spartan.
Modular mission payloads are enabling a netted environment. Open architecture interfaces will foster the plug-and-play approach and increased standardization of systems. For example, the AQS-20 mine-hunting sonar used for RMS (launched over the side of a surface ship) also can be launched from MH-60 helicopters. The system searches for mine-like objects from the sea floor to the near-surface and transmits their coordinates. On board the ship or helicopter, an operator can view a high-resolution underwater image on a video monitor. The data from the AQS-20 feeds into the ship's Combat Management System, where identified threats can be targeted. A simple change to a sonar of a different frequency allows RMS to support an ASW mission.
Mission modules can be weaponized. Going forward, adding weapons to unmanned systems will enable them to strike identified targets and strengthen their antiterrorism and force protection roles. Using a system such as Spartan, the Navy can weaponize RHIBs, arming them with guns, rockets, or missile systems. With the information provided by the deployed sensors, small unmanned boats actually could conduct attacks. Target information also could be provided to a vertical takeoff unmanned aerial vehicle on board a platform such as LCS, and the vehicle dispatched to hit the target. This kind of capability presents new possibilities for joint forces. The Army, a cosponsor of Spartan, has expressed interest in an armed RHIB, and the Navy already has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Army for the NonLine-of-Sight Launching System to be carried on a RHIB or on LCS. In addition, the Navy is exploring putting a Mk 54 torpedo on a RHIB and arming unmanned airborne systems with rockets or missiles.
Modular mission payloads can be effective, on a variety of platforms beyond LCS. The Navy already has launched and operated a 7-meter Spartan intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) prototype from the guided-missile cruiser Gettysburg (CG64). As needed, we have the means to develop systems for ASW on destroyers and cruisers to augment current systems. In fact, we could put mission modules on amphibious assault ships, where they could be launched from well decks. The possible use of mission modules to protect prepositioned ships such as oil tankers, supply ships, and logistical ships also is of interest, since these ships have no organic self-defense capability. Equipping them with mission modules would be an alternative to having them escorted by Navy ships.
The use of modular mission payloads will give us a new means of operating effectively in shallow water. With a network of sensors providing detailed information about threats in the area, operational commanders will be able to identify and engage threats before the enemy even knows we are there.
Captain Wright is program manager for the LCS Missile Modules Program Office, Program Executive Office, Littoral and Mine Warfare.