A simplified concept for recovering a UUV to a submarine

Abstract

The use of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) to enhance the military capabilities of submarines and to reduce their operational risk is being considered by navies around the world. However, a major difficulty with the operations of UUVs is their recovery back to the submarine at the end of the mission. Various schemes have been proposed by a number of organisations working in this field; however, they all have major drawbacks. A simple concept is proposed based on a warp from the submarine to a low aspect ratio wing, similar to an otter board used by fishing trawlers. This approach allows the submarine to recover the UUV by slowly overtaking it. This is done at a sufficiently large transverse distance between the vessels where hydrodynamic interaction between the two is minimal, with the submarine travelling at a speed at which it can be safely controlled.