Over the Horizon Refueling (OTH)

In Phase I, DTI will examine methods of increasing tanker stand-off to a distance of 25 miles from shore, and beyond. DTI will evaluate and design the power, communications, and deployment systems required to field a distributed-pump solution; and investigate the alternative of simply increasing the diameter of the pipe used in systems. The latter approach would only require the use a single tanker-borne dry pump, but would necessitate a bulkier, more expensive pipe, and would lack the scalability offered by the distributed-pumps solution. A massively distributed pumping scheme that uses many smaller pumps in series is extremely attractive if very flexible thin wall tube can be used, because the shipboard pipe volume would be reduced significantly compared to the present 8 mile system. However the recovery method of such a flexible thin wall system will need to be evaluated and developed. In Phase II, DTI will work with the Navy to refine these initial designs, and select the optimal approach for full-scale demonstration in Phase III.