As part of the Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) 2018, a team led by General Dynamics Mission Systems demonstrated “cross-domain, multi-level command, control and communication (C3) capabilities” among UUVs, submarines and land-based mission operations centers.

The demonstration, which took place at the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, Rhode Island, provided technological answers to the challenges of communicating among several platforms in contested underwater environments, from high-level operation planning to tactical mission execution.

“The 2018 ANTX demonstration shows General Dynamics’ commitment to innovating naval technology and delivering real-world solutions for increasingly complex maritime missions,” says Carlo Zaffanella, vice president and general manager of Maritime and Strategic Systems for General Dynamics Mission Systems.

The General Dynamics team leveraged “big picture” theatre-level planning tools, allowing for cross-domain C3 of manned submarines and UUV systems.

The demonstration employed real-time mission communications with a land-based, theatre-level planning command center and a submarine’s tactical-level command center responsible for tasking the Bluefin-21 and NUWC-owned UUV mission assets.

​Together, General Dynamics and NUWC’s Code 25 Team demonstrated a hand-off from one AN/BYG-1 submarine combat system operating at a NUWC lab, to another representation of an AN/BYG-1 system, operated pier-side by General Dynamics.

Once control by the General Dynamics command center was established, UUV assets were re-tasked by ending their existing mission and sending a new mission to the UUVs.

The real-time, C3 followed a path using a simulated UAS, satellite and actual land-based and maritime communication nodes transmitting both radio frequency and acoustic communications.

Video depicting the capabilities demonstrated by General Dynamics at ANTX 2018 can be seen below: