Expendable Glider for Oceanographic Research

One of the main obstacles to the adoption of underwater gliders for regular use in military operations is their costs, both the per-unit cost and the cost of recovering them at the end of a mission. STTR N08-016 aims to develop an expendable underwater glider (xGlider) that has a per-unit cost of less than $50,000. The Phase I effort produced the preliminary design of an xGlider the met the three major design goals: • Has a per-unit production cost of less than $50k o Actual per-unit manufacturing cost is estimated to be $49,327. • Is Expendable o Low per-unit cost makes recovery of the vehicle after use optional. • Has equal or better performance than legacy glider systems o Baseline xGlider outperforms legacy systems in speed and turning diameter. This proposal outlines the planned work for Phase II of STTR N08-016 which includes the detailed hydrodynamic design, the preliminary and detail guidance and control (G&C) system design, fabrication, integration, and extensive testing and operation of the prototype xGlider.