USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Steven L Camara

Daniel W French

John J Vaillancourt

Theodore C Gagliardi

David Michael Nugent

An antenna extension system for extending an antenna from an underwater vehicle. The system comprises a housing disposed wholly within the vehicle and a plurality of telescopically connected tiers extendible from a base tier disposed within the housing, an innermost of the tiers being adapted to support the antenna. A cable extends from a base portion of the housing and is fixed at a distal end to the antenna. A plurality of telescopically connected fairings are extendible from the housing and are disposed around the tiers and the cable. A cap is fixed to a distal end of a distalmost of the fairings for enclosing the antenna. Extension of the telescopically connected tiers from the base tier moves the antenna from wholly inside the housing to a position extending outwardly from the vehicle, and extends the cable and fairings with the tiers.

Antenna extension system

An aligning and lifting device is disclosed. The invention may be for use th an underwater cage including a top portion and a bottom portion. The aligning and lifting device includes a male member having a support surface fixed to the top portion of the cage, an integrally formed wedge shaped portion depending from the support surface for lateral alignment capabilities, and an alignment pin projecting from the distal end of the depending wedge shaped portion for facilitating vertical alignment. The device also has a female member that includes integrally formed side walls and complementary support surfaces opposed to the support surface of the male member, thereby defining a complementary wedge shaped opening for receiving the depending wedge portion of the male member. An alignment pin hole is formed at the base of said complementary wedge shaped opening for receiving the alignment pin of the depending wedge. The male member is aligned with the female member in a vertical direction by insertion of the alignment pin into the alignment pin hole and in a lateral direction by mating of the male wedge with the complementary shaped female opening.

Alignment lifting fixture

A ballast weight system for releasably attaching a ballast weight to an urwater vehicle is disclosed where the system comprises a ballast weight, a housing disposed about the ballast weight, a fairing connected to the ballast weight to facilitate a flush connection of the ballast weight to the underwater vehicle, and a bolt coupler where one end of the bolt receives a lanyard pin therethrough and the second end connects a spring loaded bolt connected to the ballast weight. A linear actuator is connected to the lanyard pin. The lanyard pin placed through the bolt maintains the spring loaded bolt in spring compression such that when the pin is removed, the spring compression propels the ballast weight away from the housing.

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Riverside, RI, United States of America

Steven L Camara