Lockheed Martin's RMMV anti-mine drone may be shelved

The US Navy may shelve Lockheed Martin's Remote Minehunting System (RMS) also Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV) program.

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 Lockheed Martin's Remote Minehunting System (RMS) used sonars and other sensors to find mines. (Diagram courtesy panzercho)

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 “The Motley Fool” reports March 4, 2016 http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/03/04/lockheed-martins-billion-dollar-drone-submarine-fa.aspx

"Lockheed Martin's Billion-Dollar Drone Submarine Faces Cancellation"

“And two rivals hope to profit from Lockheed's misfortune

The U.S. Navy is suspending purchases of Lockheed Martin's (NYSE:LMT) drone minisubs, and switching to an alternative product -- probably from General Dynamics …Maybe.

…The Navy has already spent more than $700 million on the "drone" in question, actually a batch of 10 remote multi-mission vehicles (RMMV) designed to operate from Navy Littoral Combat Ships on minesweeping missions. Each drone is essentially a remote-controlled minisubmarine designed to locate and mark anti-ship mines for later disposal by its mothership.

…15 years of development have failed to fix problems with the minisubs, which broke down 14 times over 300 hours of testing in recent sea trials. The Pentagon's assessment: RMMV is "not ... operationally effective."

…Bloomberg reported earlier this week that the Navy is considering several alternatives to Lockheed's drone. The leading contender right now appears to be General Dynamics' Knifefish, a similar submarine drone, which the Navy was already planning to deploy for the minesweeping mission in 2017. At an estimated $1 billion for 48 units, Knifefish promises to be a cheaper and perhaps a more effective minehunter than what Lockheed Martin is offering. [also competing is a]  Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle from Textron. 

[see WHOLE “MOTLEY” ARTICLE]

The rapidly growing range of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) (see the RMS middle-left).
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Pete