Sea TENTACLE: Track, Engage, & Neutralize Threats - Asymmetric & Conventional - in the Littoral Environment

Abstract

Sea TENTACLE is a proposed afloat platform whose primary mission is to utilize the state-of-the-art technology of unmanned vehicles to monitor and neutralize all subsurface enemy threats in the littorals. This mission can be specified further as anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare and maritime surveillance. The design philosophy of Sea TENTACLE embodies the ideal of providing a multi-mission capable sea frame extending network-centric warfare into the littorals. The design goals of the TSSE team were first to develop a platform to deploy, recover, and maintain unmanned vehicle (e.g. UUVs, USVs, UAVs) and second to enableto ship to act as an afloat network operations center for distributed assets. Allowing all units to work together seamlessly to conduct focused missions in the littorals makes the Sea TENTACLE a creitical component within the network-centric environment. The versatility of its cargo hold and modular design allows Sea TENTACLE to be outfitted dynamically to complete a veriety of secondary missions including humanitarian aid, salvage and spacial operations support. Sea TENTACLE's combat management and operations system will employ the Enterprise architecture design enabling C4ISR capabilities that will meet emerging network centric warfare needs.