Autonomous Mobile Periscope System (AMPS)

The proliferation of diesel electric submarines has impacted undersea warfare (USW) world wide. These quiet, modern conventionally powered submarines are ideally suited to operations in the shallow water environment. While these diesel electric submarines are less capable than a nuclear fast attack submarine, the weapons they carry are just as destructive. Diesel electric submarines have the capability to operate nearly silently making their detection almost impossible. They do, however have a weakness. All diesel electric submarines require a periscope for navigation in shallow water and a snorkel to provide air to run the generator sets to recharge its batteries. Thus, while acoustically nearly invisible, the primary way of detecting a diesel electric submarine is to detect its periscope or snorkel. Of the two, the periscope is the most difficult to detect. Periscope detection capability for airborne, surface ship, and land systems has become a high priority for the United States Department of Defense and commercial agencies. Extensive testing is required as new systems are developed to detect the low radar cross section periscopes. As these new periscope detection tools come on line, training is required for the air, sea, and land based USW crews. The United States does not have a diesel electric submarine. The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine force is heavily tasked and not readily available to provide dedicated periscope target services for the RDT&E community and USW crews. As a result, a requirement for a less expensive, readily available periscope detection target was defined. The Autonomous Mobile Periscope System (AMPS) is being developed by the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) and the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center (CDNSWC), formally the David Taylor Model Basin (DTMB), to meet the requirement for an inexpensive readily available periscope detection target. The AMPS will represent the above water portion of a submarine running at periscope depth. A simulated attack periscope and mast will be mounted to a free running, underwater vehicle. The vehicle will position and propel the periscope over a prescribed path and will have the capability to submerge the periscope at various intervals. The vehicle can be operated autonomously using a pre-programmed track and on-board data storage. In addition, a two way radio link is capable of transmitting run-interrupt commands and to receive real-time data. The AMPS design was constrained by several factors; the ability to perform its mission in the high sea states in the Hawaiian area, the capability of the existing PMRF range support boats to launch and recover the AMPS with minimal modification, the capability of tracking and controlling AMPS, keeping the maintenance and operation of the AMPS within the skill level of the technicians currently employed at PMRF, and to do it all under $2 million.