The U.S. Navy has awarded Aerojet Rocketdyne a $1.6 million contract to mature a power and energy management system designed to remotely recharge underwater unmanned vehicles while undersea.
The company said Friday it will also mature and demonstrate the system’s software in an effort to help the Navy prioritize and schedule UUVs that need wireless recharging.
Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake said the company’s power and energy management system will support longer UUV travels and work to conceal the vehicles’ presence from potential threats.
The company designed the platform for UUVs to upload data and download orders without the need to travel to a port or surface ship.
Aerojet Rocketdyne added its engineering hardware and software technologies for the power and energy management system will undergo a series of Navy demonstrations after the maturation phase as part of the service branch’s Forward-Deployed Energy and Communications Outpost program.