Autonomous Vessel Energy and Readiness Management
NCMS Project #: 142252
Problem: Readiness issues driven by maintenance and sustainment plague all commercial enterprises. Similar to commercial shippers, the Navy suffers from a situation where ships use too much energy, are not as available as they need to be, and expenditures associated with maintenance and sustainment are untenable. Autonomous vessels planned for extremely long mission times without people on board to tend to the equipment exacerbate these problems. Built from a basically standard hull, mechanical, and electrical (HM&E) equipment, these platforms will be unable to complete their assigned missions as currently configured.
Solution/Approach: The solution is to integrate the Mission Readiness Support System (MRSS) being developed on CONSTELLATION on the Sea Hunter and to evaluate the ways that it can be used to inform an autonomous vessel operator and ensure operational availability of a vessel. The solution will incorporate a phased approached, beginning with the engineering analysis of the Sea Hunter platform, identification of sensor gaps to enable full coverage, implementation of the capabilities supported by the available sensors, and installation and deployment of the enhanced system with the full justified sensor suite to demonstrate the technologies.
Benefit: This initiative will provide new functionality with the potential to be used by the operational forces, increasing productivity, and providing a streamlined process for all forces to utilize. Furthermore, positive results from numerous aspects of this initiative can be leveraged toward public maintenance and sustainment business processes.
Impact on Warfighter:
- Enhance prediction of system failures
- Increase ability to adapt to changing global conditions
- Reduce maintenance and sustainment costs
- Improve warfighter safety
DOD Participation:
- Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock
- U.S. Surface Forces Command, Pacific
- U.S. Marine Corps (observer)
Industry Participation:
- The DEI Group
- NCMS
Benefit Area(s):
- Safety
- Improved Readiness
- Survivability
- Energy Efficiency
- Reliability Improvement
Focus Area:
- CBM+/Predictive Maintenance