Project QUIET WAKE: A Forward-Staged, Deployable, Acoustic Repair Capability for Pacific Fleet Submarine Sustainment

Coatings and Corrosion Prevention

Problem: SHT Damage as a Combat Readiness and National Security Issue. Special Hull Treatment acoustic materials are critical to a submarine’s acoustic advantage. When these coatings are missing or damaged, the submarine may still operate, but not in its intended acoustic condition. Current practice often mitigates tile defects by cutting, fairing, or preserving the area, then documenting the issue through DFS or CSMP and deferring permanent restoration until a scheduled maintenance availability. While this helps control further damage, it does not eliminate the operational risk or maintenance burden of an incomplete coating system. This leads to deferred maintenance backlog at shipyards and mission risk.

Solution: Forward-Deployed, Containerized Repair Capability

• Forward-staged repair cell in deployable 10- or 20-foot containers.
• Point-of-need restoration and flexible deployment to shipyards and forward-deployed locations.
• Tods Technology, a Canopy A&D company, has delivered anechoic repair services since the 1980s across four UK Royal Navy submarine classes. TRL9, proven technology in operation today.

Benefits to the DOW:
Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines are among the highest-value assets in the U.S. defense inventory. Their operational value depends not only on hull count, but on stealth condition, mission availability, and confidence in survivability. SHT degradation therefore represents an Operational Risk Management problem, not just a repair-cost issue, because it can affect availability planning, mission scheduling, commander risk decisions, fleet readiness, and survivability against peer adversaries.

Requested Navy Action: Target Objectives and REPTX Pilot Demonstration Pathway.
Canopy would like to align on funding pathways to demonstrate the capability at an upcoming Navy REPTX or exercise to validate the concept and gather feedback alongside Navy stakeholders. The demonstration would show how the containerized repair cell performs with real-world or simulated SHT defects.