DARPA Connectorless Sea Train concept selects Gibbs & Cox
NewsOctober 06, 2020
ARLINGTON, Va. Gibbs & Cox, Inc. (G&C) announced the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded the company a multi-phase contract to develop and demonstrate a Connectorless Sea Train concept. DARPA has exercised the base development phase for $9,450,339.
According to the company, G&C will aim to achieve integrated system design, robotic controls, autonomy, and hydrodynamic optimization. This approach, coined by the company as Articulated Resistance Minimized Autonomous Deployment Asset (ARMADA), is intended to reshape maritime vessel capabilities, enabling long-range deployments of medium-sized autonomous surface vessels without the need for either in-port or at-sea refueling.
The company claims that DARPA's selection of G&C for the Sea Train program was due in part to G&C's expansion in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) industry.