The drone technology realized in Iraq and Afghanistan may be further exploited by the US navy troops, as it follows from a release made public on January 11 by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a federal agency responsible for the development of new technologies. Interested vendors are invited to sign up for a research “in the area of distributed unmanned sensors and systems for maritime applications".
The release titled “Upward Falling Payloads” unveils the DARPA’s intention to develop “deployable, unmanned, distributed systems that lie on the deep-ocean floor in special containers for years at a time’. Whenever the necessity arises, the systems would be activated remotely and returned to the surface.
The systems would be much helpful in providing “operational support and situational awareness”, when costly and complex marine missions likely to be avoided would be the case.
The contract award is estimated at $47 million.
This story first appeared on Voice of Russia & is reposted here with permission.