ST. LOUIS—Boeing [BA] plans to test improved lithium batteries later this year on an unmanned submarine it believes could eventually fit into the Navy’s missions of persistent presence and countering anti-area access denial threats, according to the company’s executive in charge of the program.
The sub known as Echo Ranger, and developed by Boeing’s Phantom Works outfit for advanced projects, will be tested off California’s Catalina Island in July to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new lithium batteries and to experiment with payloads, said Mark Kosko, the program manager for unmanned underwater systems.
The Navy has identified countering anti-area access denial (A2AD) as a top priority as it plans to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region under the Obama’s administration new global posture strategy unveiled in January.
Kosko said a key challenge in developing the autonomous undersea system is coming up with adequate sources of energy to power Echo Ranger and his team is looking at solutions ranging from batteries to diesel engines that could also recharge batteries.
“Finding sufficient energy is hard,” he told Defense Daily.
So far, Echo Ranger has been able to submerge for 40 hours and Kosko said he expects the new lithium batteries will lengthen that time. Kosko said another challenge is developing its acoustics and navigation capabilities so the sub is better able to avoid running into surface craft or ships.
Echo Ranger was first envisioned as a platform for surveying commercial oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico, but the company shifted the focus to military applications about seven years ago.
Echo Ranger is 18.5 feet long and weighs 10,700 pounds. It is designed to reach depths of 10,000 feet and travel at a maximum speed of 6 knots.