Amphibious Platform for Missile Launch

As attention shifts to the IndoPacific region, contested logistics and mobile long-range fires platforms will become a larger priority for the US ARMY. The US Army currently relies upon a limited number of larger watercraft as well as heavy-lift air assets to support a wide range of sustainment and maneuver operations. While efficient for uncontested environments, this increases operational risk and cannot support the large-scale operations envisioned for future conflicts. Based on the unique capability requirements in this region, PMT proposed a flexible amphibious vehicle platform called the Multi-mission Amphibious Unmanned Vehicle (MAUV) that enables operations in areas that are otherwise inaccessible, greatly expanding the Army’s mission set in such a diverse and dynamic environment. Since the majority of the land masses in this region are islands, the MAUV will need to be able to transit through surf and transition zones to isolated regions without developed roads or port infrastructure. By implementing a large number of smaller amphibious craft, the Army will improve its ability to swiftly transport equipment, supplies, and missile platforms across waterways in a distributed manner and ensure agile and reliable logistics support in contested environments.  Due to its ability to traverse littoral waters, surf zones, beaches, and unimproved land terrains, the MAUV can also ‘vertically integrate’ the Army’s logistic chain, consolidating a number of sequential, interdependent steps in an overall sustainment/maneuver operation into streamlined ship-to-objective operations, reducing critical bottlenecks and technical/operational risk along the way. As a missile launch platform, the MAUV will also be able to fire from various sea and land domains, and its enhanced mobility significantly broadens the available shoot-and-scoot strategies, allowing for evasion without the support of shore-based or air-based assets. Furthermore, by implementing autonomous or unmanned systems, the MAUV can significantly lighten the logistics tail and relieve critical resources to ensure the Army's ability to rapidly deploy forces, conduct sustainment activities, and execute timely and effective operational maneuvers. In our Phase I SBIR feasibility study, PMT developed the concept for the MAUV such that can be configured to support a variety of payloads relevant to contested logistics and missile launch operations for the Army. In Phase II, PMT will continue to develop the MAUV platform by building off experience gained from the design, construction, and testing of multiple versions of the Ultra-Heavy Amphibious Connector (UHAC), the Unmanned Swarming Amphibious Craft (USAC), and the Amphibious Vehicle for Unmanned Surface Mobility (AVUSM). Our experience in developing these AV platforms enables us to rapidly design and prototype the MAUV at a higher TRL for the Army upon award.