Anti-submarine training UUVs for Navy to get refresh, 10-year contract
NewsNovember 29, 2022
NEWPORT, R.I. The U.S. Navy's Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport has contracted with Saab to modernize and qualify the MK39 EMATT [expendable mobile antisubmarine warfare training target], a small (3 feet/22 pounds) sonobuoy-size unmanned underwater vessel (UUV) programmed to conduct various anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training scenarios.
Saab will update, qualify the product through first article validation testing, and follow through on what is anticipated to be a 10-year production period under the contract, which has a potential value of $173.2 million (SEK 1.73 billion) for deliveries through 2032.
The Saab ASW training targets leverage sensors that mimic the signatures of hostile submarines; according to Saab, Navy users can send EMATT from sonobuoy launchers on helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and surface ships.
To support the MK39EMATT program, Saab, Inc. is setting up a facility in Cranston, Rhode Island, the location of Saab’s Autonomous and Undersea Systems Division.