(2) Compact Retractable Antenna for Medium-sized UUV

Triton proposes to develop a compact retractable antenna for medium-sized Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUV).  The Retractable Antenna Integrated System (RAISE) will enable secure communications through a deployable RF antenna positioned external to the UUV hull. RAISE will integrate a compact RF antenna solution for coverage in the High Frequency (HF) through L-band range and a robust retraction and deployment mechanism, all housed within a hydrodynamically-streamlined volume. The volume will be neutral in buoyancy to provide adequate stability to the vehicle when the antenna is fully deployed, enabling secure communications in sea surface environmental conditions up to sea state 2. The solution will be packaged for seamless integration to torpedo-tube sized UUVs suitable for torpedo-tube launch/recovery PoR. Retraction of the antenna when not in use enables deep-depth mission profiles for this class of UUVs. RAISE will extend the mission capabilities of such UUV systems without sacrificing communications performance.