Raytheon Company

Steven J Elder

James H Dupont

Jeffrey H Koessler

Mark A DeBake

Brian L Cochran

An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is disclosed for transporting and delivering a positively buoyant payload and/or a negatively buoyant payload to a destination. The AUV can be gravitationally propelled through the sea. The AUV can comprise a flexible vehicle body that receives a positively buoyant payload (e.g., incompressible fluid, like fuel) and can comprise a negative buoyancy component (e.g., elongated spine, electronics, cargo, etc.). A weight of the negative buoyancy component is correlated to a volume of the positively buoyant payload whereby the AUV is substantially neutrally buoyant at sea. The positively buoyant payload can be hydrostatically pressurized to hydrodynamically shape the body. The vehicle body can be collapsible for storage. The AUV can collect underwater intelligence data and transmit said data when surfacing. The AUV can loiter at sea for long periods of time. Associated system and methods are disclosed for transporting a positively buoyant payload with an AUV.

Autonomous underwater vehicle for transport of payloads

A rotary wing aircraft, a rotor blade and a horizon scanning system are provided. The rotary wing aircraft, for example, may include, but is not limited to, a mast, an engine configured to provide rotational force to the mast and a controller. The rotary wing aircraft may further include a rotor blade connected to the mast having a leading edge, a plurality of tubercles positioned on the leading edge of the rotor blade, and a sensor housed within at least one of the plurality tubercles communicatively connected to the controller.

Horizon scanning system for a rotary wing aircraft including sensors housed within a tubercle on a rotor blade

Some embodiments pertain to a projectile that includes a propellant and a casing that encloses the propellant such that the casing acts as a reaction chamber during flight of the projectile. The casing includes a plurality of flechettes. When the projectile strikes (or is near) a target, a large internal sheer pressure forms within the casing. This sheer pressure causes the flechettes to sheer apart at the thinnest sections of the casing. Once the thin sections of the casing are sheered apart, the flechettes will be unconstrained such that the flechettes take individual flight paths.

Projectile having casing that includes multiple flachettes

Embodiments of a bubble weapon system and methods for inhibiting movement and disrupting operations of vessels are generally described herein. In some embodiments, a bubble weapon is configured to generate a plume of bubbles in water. The plume reduces buoyancy of the water to inhibit movement of a vessel or disrupt operations of the vessel. In some embodiments, the bubble weapon includes a configurable diffuser section that may be configured in a thrust-neutral configuration or a thrust-engaged configuration.

Bubble weapon system and methods for inhibiting movement and disrupting operations of vessels

One embodiment includes a launch vessel defining an elongate, linear interior extending from a bottom portion to an exit opening. The embodiment includes a ram slidably disposed in the launch vessel, the ram sealed to the vessel. The embodiment also includes one or more wedges coupled to the launch vessel along the interior proximal the exit opening, with each wedge shape sized to increasingly narrow a cross section of the interior along an exit vector extending from the bottom portion toward the exit opening. In the embodiment, the vessel is to house a charge proximal the bottom portion, the charge to propel the ram along the exit vector, with the one or more wedges sized to stop be ram inside the interior.

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Tucson, AZ, United States of America

Steven J Elder