Northrop showcases Project Scion technology payload for unmanned vessels

SAN DIEGO – Northrop Grumman announced it will participate in two events to demonstrate the autonomy and electronic warfare payloads the company is developing for unmanned surface ships under the Project Scion initiative.

In a December test off the East Coast, a T38 vessel supplied by Murtak and outfitted by Northrop autonomously identified, tracked and monitored targets moving through the Chesapeake Bay.

Company officials told C4ISRNET that they are currently attending the International Unmanned Vehicle Systems Association’s Xponential 2024, which will be held in California in April, and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division’s Silent Swarm, which will be held in Michigan in July. It is said that energy is being shifted to preparing Project Scion products for the upcoming activities. The former focuses on collaborative autonomy and applications beyond national security, while the latter focuses on electromagnetic warfare and digital deception.

“We’ve been working on taking the next steps since December, two months after we did the demo,” Dennis Grignon, Northrop’s business development manager, said in an interview. “We did this on a single platform, but because we were able to scale the package down to a very small he USV, we were able to repeat this.”

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The experiments and investments at the Virginia-based company come amid growing interest in unmanned technology for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard.

Former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday has explored a hybrid fleet, updating the so-called navigation plan and bringing together 373 manned ships and 150 unmanned ships. The Coast Guard similarly released a driverless road map last year.it explained the power Powered by robot assistance, it is ready to counter illicit activities and domestic threats.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon launched its Replicator Initiative in August, aiming to deploy thousands of unmanned systems over 18 to 24 months to help China overcome its large population.

Grignon said Project Scion could pool technology from other areas, such as aerial drones, ground robotics and smart buoys, to turn the platform into a “true combat surveillance system for customers.” Generate payload.

Northrop, whose technology will be on display at the Western Naval Conference in San Diego this week, makes the Fire Scout autonomous helicopter and the Triton unmanned aircraft system, among others.

“The flexibility of the payload allows it to be programmed for multiple missions,” he said. “This is part of a larger need to do more with less, and that’s the gap we’re trying to fill here.”

The future battles that U.S. defense leaders are preparing for will put a strain on manpower, know-how, and other resources. A war with China in the Indo-Pacific would put severe pressure on Navy ships, crews, and their logistics networks.

Roboships could act as eyes and ears, even in places that would otherwise lack shuttles or firepower.

“We receive data, process it, analyze it, and take action on that data based on the commander’s intent,” said Matt O’Driscoll, Northrop’s chief engineer for maritime systems and integration. He talked about Project Scion and its December. trial.

“The effects unit we had on board was just a camera,” he added. “But in the future, it could be electronic attacks like jamming, cyberattacks, or something dynamic involving humans.”

The development and deployment of semi-autonomous or fully autonomous weapons is governed by the so-called Directive 3000.09, first signed a decade ago and updated last year. The Department of Defense directive aims to increase autonomy and reduce the risk of weapon malfunction. Does not apply to cyber.

According to Defense News Top 100 analysis, Northrop is the third largest defense contractor in the world when ranked by revenue. It earned $32.4 billion in 2022 and $31.4 billion in 2021.