DARPA has successfully tested its Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) and its first payload, the Towed Airborne Lift of Naval Systems (TALONS), which launched from the back of the vessel.

The ACTUV is a part of DARPA’s new class of USVs, with the ability to stay out on sea for months at a time. The vessel is capable of completing several kinds of missions, including submarine tracking and countermine activities.

TALONS is a parafoil-based flying system capable of carrying up to 150 pounds of intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications payloads, while flying between 500 and 1,500 feet, equivalent to the height of a skyscraper.

For this exercise, the TALONS system started off on the back of the ACTUV in a “nest.” Once it launched, it reached 1,000 feet and tested its onboard sensors and communications equipment. After completing its test, the TALONS returned to its nest on the back of the ACTUV vehicle while the vehicle maintained its same speed in the water.

Representatives from DARPA were very happy with the results of the test.

“I was delighted to explore the possibility of hosting TALONS on ACTUV and from my perspective, the testing could not have gone better,” said Scott Littlefield, DARPA program manager for ACTUV, via a company press release.

DARPA program manager for TALONS Dan Patt added, “TALONS showed the advantages of using a low-cost add-on elevated sensor to extend the vision and connectivity of a surface asset and ACTUV demonstrated its ability as a flexible and robust payload truck.”

DARPA and the Office of Naval Research will conduct tests on the vessel and its capabilities over the next two years. If all goes well, it is possible that the program could make its way to the Navy by 2018.

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