Oceaneering International has accepted a “multi-million-dollar” deal to manufacture an autonomous sub-surface vehicle and build a mission hub for the US Navy.
The deal covers the Texas-based company’s proprietary Freedom underwater drone and Onshore Remote Operations Center.
Work for the contract will be facilitated by Oceanneering’s Subsea Robotics and Aerospace and Defense Technologies segments.
Development of the Freedom unmanned underwater system will be conducted at the company’s manufacturing site in Morgan City, Louisiana.
“This award allows us to deliver commercial technology driven by energy industry needs to the US Department of Defense to address subsea security needs,” Oceaneering Subsea Robotics Senior Director Peter Buchanan stated.
The Freedom System
Oceaneering’s Freedom is a 15-meter (49-foot) drone designed for wide inspection and data collection tasks requiring endurance-capable assets.
The vehicle is equipped with a camera, radio locator, acoustic solution, specialized lights, and sonar for effective deployments. It can be integrated with additional illuminance and sensor payloads for more demanding missions.
Freedom has a charge time of five hours, a stationary position capability of up to 87 hours, a maximum operating depth of 19,500 feet (5,943 meters), a top speed of 8 miles (11 kilometers) per hour, and a range of 75 miles (121 kilometers).
Onshore Remote Operations Center
Meanwhile, the Onshore Remote Operations Center offers maximized space management, reduced carbon emissions, lesser logistics costs, and safety for underwater drone pilots.
The hub acts as a virtual command center and incorporates asset agnostic platforms over deployed vehicles. It leverages low- and medium-Earth orbit satellite networks, high-definition audio and video communications, and monitoring and restreaming solutions.
It can also coordinate with Oceaneering’s Liberty docking station that reduces port calls for active underwater drones.
The center is currently operational in the US, Scotland, and Brazil.