Originally appeared at ZeroHedge
The Pentagon has agreed to allocate an additional $20.7 million in funding to AAI Corp., a unit of Textron Systems, for engineering and technical services to develop more robot stealth boats that probe for underwater mines and can attack enemy forces with its machine gun.
AAI’s stealth boat is badass, and made right here in the USA, at several production facilities on the East Coast. The deal is valued at $20,720,170 and is a modification to a previously awarded contract from 2014 for the Navy’s Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) and Unmanned Surface Vehicle program.
About 70% of the vessel will be constructed at AAI’s Hunt Valley, Maryland facility, with the remaining 30% at the company’s Slidell, Louisiana plant.
UISS is the Navy’s program for “a rapid wide-area coverage mine clearance capability which are required to neutralize magnetic/acoustic influence mines,” reported Navy Recognition. The vessel also packs firepower where it can remotely engage enemy forces.
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The robot vessel is designed to perform mine countermeasures and capabilities by employing mine-hunting and mine-sweeping systems and work alongside Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) and other vessels. It is small enough to launch from an LCS or another vessel.
Click to see the full-size image
It has high endurance and can conduct up to 20 hours of operation with countermine mine technology payload. For defensive and offensive operations, the vessel houses a machine gun that remotely fires on enemy targets.
The Pentagon awarded the contract to AAI in 2014 for the vessels with a completion date of September 2020, with a total value amount of $122.1 million. The work was pushed out one year to September 2021, with contract value increased to $142.8 to $165.2 million.
It appears to the Navy wants more and more of these robot stealth boats. It’s like Skynet on water…
Thats how things are. More and more techns.
Good.Needed to counter islamic terrorists and China.Hopefully Russia will collaborate with the US against these two evils(dog eaters and islamic terrorists).
“It’s like Skynet on water“ yeah, it is very dangerous, Russia should not try that, maybe in 10-15 years…
Why do we need a stealth minesweeper, are we doing to launch a surprise attack against a fortified port? I thought we were the freedom of navigation guys. A plain vanilla mine sweeper is good enough to keep our ports and sea lanes open.
“…are we doing to launch a surprise attack against a fortified port?”
Why, yes. Iran’s ports are an existential threat to the US. Our LCS will need freedom-of-navigation when trying to out-maneuver Iranian C-802 anti-ship missiles. Best to have those mines cleared out first. The Persian Gulf is about the only place we’ve ever used minesweepers since the Korean War.
“A plain vanilla mine sweeper is good enough to keep our ports and sea lanes open.”
Where’s the profit in THAT?
Defense industry shill ProPublica ‘preps the grifter battlefield’ for a mine sweeper replacement here: https://www.propublica.org/article/iran-has-hundreds-of-naval-mines-us-navy-minesweepers-find-old-dishwashers-car-parts We wouldn’t need new minesweepers if those sneaky iranians would on stop using dishwashers as naval mines. That’s diabolical!
It only shows Iran wants war with an American. Otherwise they wouldnt do it.
Iran is planning a war with the U.S., all militaries plan wars, not the same as wanting a war.
Why should Iran let a President Tom Cotton blockade them without any repercussion.
Iran suffered enough during the Iran / Iraq war where the benevolent U.S. protected Iraqi oil tankers but in the name of freedom of navigation but not their tankers. We still laugh at how we sank half their navy in one day after our ship struck a mine in a warzone while protecting Iraqi shipping.
LOL
These killer boats are really “bad arses” folks as only an American can make them. Sweeping all mines, killing everybody trying to approach our protection zones.
Developed especially to Hormuz Strait, Crimea Strait, Yemen Bab-Al Strait, anywhere where terrorists are denying an American accessibility. Sweeping our enemies away, preparing the way for US Hangars to take over new virgin land…….LOL.