Survivable Minefield Mission Data Module: Black Box

STTR topic N22A-T012 seeks to develop a compact, survivable ōblack boxö mission module to collect UUV mission data prior to a mine detonation. This data module must preserve the data and allow system operators to retrieve the data post-detonation. Aretķ, along with our academic partner Applied Research Lab ¢ Penn State University, propose a hardened Black Box device that adheres to the host vehicle using vacuum suction. This solution directly extends AretķÆs TRL8 EDEX, which is a small messaging device designed to exfil data from underwater host vehicles. The EDEX mission, as established on the MK18 UUV has demonstrated the ability of off-loading data, self-launching, ascending to the surface, and establishing Line-of-Sight or SATCOM RF communications to deliver the data. We propose to upgrade our data exfiltration to address the MEMUUV/MESR specific survivability and timely data delivery requirments. The resulting Black Box will be able to record and deliver mission critical UUV data in the event of a diabled or destroyed UVV host. ARL-PSU wil develop detailed blast modeling to inform the design and to predict survivability and will guide system test and evaluation.