Tube Launched UAS with Modular Payload Bays and Interfaces

The submarine communitys critical need for advanced payload and expanded flight-envelop capable small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is stalled by current tube launched UAS which have low endurance with low performance Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) packages. Additionally, todays market tube-launched UAS are generally deployed from specific tube launching systems to collect sensor data via loud propulsion systems which hamper the execution of covert ISR and other missions. It would be beneficial to the tube launched community if the beginning design stages of UAS development included the capability to support multiple sensors, payloads, and launching systems. In this way, expansion of the UAS capabilities or the integration of newly developed subsystems would not require a redesign, yielding a truly adaptable UAS for many payloads and missions. Brock Technologies SHARK UAS refined under this Phase II effort will address these issues with its modular sensor payload bays, extended battery capacity, and quiet propulsion system. By utilizing a systems engineering approach and advanced manufacturing techniques, the prototype systems developed under the Phase II effort validate the Phase I design leading to a tube-launched transition to flight demonstration, thereby confirming the modular SHARK UAS as a cost-effective solution for Navy tube-launched submarine missions.