The drone they are talking about here is the underwater version, otherwise known as a glider. Gliders are vehicles that carry a suite of oceanographic sensors that measure ocean properties. This could include a CTD to estimate physical properties such as temperature, salinity, depth and sound speed or oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence and backscatter sensors to measure biological properties. Oceanographers love these things because they are autonomous, meaning they can drive themselves with only a little help from humans on shore (although they sometimes do need to wake up at ungodly hours to help redirect them). Plus, they are much cheaper than using a ship.

From the vague and conflicting description on news reports, I haven’t been able to figure out exactly what kind of “ocean glider” was seized by the Chinese. It is either this Seaglider

or this Slocum Glider:

Operationally, both of these gliders work pretty much the same. They are buoyancy-driven, which means they have a bladder that fills up with either oil or seawater allowing it to sink or float. The wings force the glider forward as it is diving and dive pitch and speed is adjusted by internally shifiting weight inside the body (usually the heavy battery pack). The Seaglider also uses changes in the location of the battery pack to roll itself and steer, while the Slocum Glider steers with an adorable little rudder. What differs is the range and the scientific payloads these gliders can carry. Generally Seagliders go deeper but carry less stuff, while Slocum’s cruise the shallow seas and can be more heavily loaded.

It’s pretty well known that the US has economic and security interests in the region around the South China Sea where the drone was seized. These ocean gliders have been used here before, the Office of Naval Research regularly supports oceanographic research in the region. The question to ask is not why the glider was taken, as it was unclassified and a small asset, rather why was it taken now? As of the writing of this article, the answer to this question is still unclear. However, the US and China have struck a deal and apparently the US is getting its glider back unharmed, which is good news for once ocean robot who took an unexpected detour.

The post Ocean robot seized, causes international incident first appeared on Deep Sea News.

So how does Electric Boat plan to obtain 100 knots?  Science Baby! When an object moves fast enough through water a gas bubble is created around itself and effectively eliminating any drag. This process called supercavitation allows an object to speed along at a much faster speed.  Toward the end of WW2 the Soviets had created a torpedo that utilizes supercavitation but scaling up to another sub is whole other bottle of vodka. Electric boat will demonstrate this concept in action with 8 ft diameter 100 ft length “model” in the spring of 2010 where the demonstration will include a 10 minute run at speeds up to 100 knots.

You can see what this process looks like modeled or around a designed foil and propeller below the fold.

In addition, the navy is exploring and developing submarine launched drones through its Irregular Warfare Office.  According to an interview with Rear Adm. Mark W. Kenny by Special Operations Technology reporter Scott Gourley, Ohio-class guided-missile subs are not outfitted with drones. In the interview Rear Adm. Kenny outlined a specific torpedo sized submarine drone called Sea Stalker.  Sea Stalker is over shoulder right now! “The [concept] is to launch these from submarines at night,” Kenny said. “They will transit to offshore, anchor, put their antennas out and begin collection. Ideally you would have a series of these … to cover different ports or hotbeds of terrorist activity. And then you would collate that information on board the ship.”

There is no reliable photographs of any these available yet, either artist renderings or mistaken identities.

The post The New Navy Has Both Faster and Unmanned Subs first appeared on Deep Sea News.