Advanced Technology International (ATI) has awarded General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) a contract to develop and demonstrate a prototype Lithium-ion Fault Tolerant (LiFT) battery system for the U.S. Navy’s prototype “Snakehead” Large-Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (LDUUV).

Built to increase endurance, range, and payload hosting capabilities in support of various future mission and operations requirements, the Snakehead LDUUV’s propulsion and support systems will be powered by the LiFT battery system.

“Our LiFT battery systems are designed to withstand the rugged marine environment and provide safe, reliable power that is critical to keeping propulsion and support systems operating throughout a mission cycle,” explains Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS.

“We look forward to expanding our efforts to develop and demonstrate prototype LiFT battery systems to support the LDUUV, as we continue to provide LiFT systems for various other critical manned and unmanned underwater platforms used by the Department of Defense.”

The LiFT battery system features a modular design and single cell fault tolerance that is designed to prevent uncontrolled and catastrophic cascading lithium-ion cell failure, which helps improve the safety of personnel and platforms while keeping power available for high mission assurance.

Additionally, the LiFT battery system’s flexible architecture can be configured to meet the most demanding needs of manned and unmanned underwater vehicles.

GA-EMS notes that LiFT battery systems have undergone rigorous at-sea testing, including their use in other undersea vehicles that have been classified by DNV GL, which is an international accredited registrar and classification society for the maritime industry.