Submarines: XFC UAV, Son Of Tomahawk Takes It Slow

Submarines: Son Of Tomahawk Takes It Slow

December 13, 2013: The U.S. Navy recently launched a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) from a submarine. This was done using much of the same tech used to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles from torpedo tubes, the XFC UAV deploys larger wings than a Tomahawk and is apparently more maneuverable and moves much more slowly (54-93 kilometers an hour versus 880 kilometers an hour for the Tomahawk). Thus while the Tomahawk only stays in the air for about two hours the XFC can remain in the air for over eight hours and uses propeller propulsion and not a jet engine. The XFC is powered by electricity, from a fuel cell rather than a battery. The XFC made its first flight in 2009 and may enter service in a few years is the navy perceives a real need.
...

While the passive (listen only) sensors aboard American subs make it possible to locate ships hundreds of kilometers away, there is little awareness of what is on nearby land or the air above. That’s where a torpedo tube launched UAV, even if it was only used once, would come in handy. The video and other data collected by the UAV would be streamed back to the sub for further analysis. When the sub has its radio connection active it can also receive updates of satellite or aircraft data but that is often a little dated while the sub launched UAV provides real time video.
 
Aircraft operating off submarines is nothing new. The Japanese did quite a lot of this sort of thing during World War II. This included a bombing mission on the U.S. west coast (Oregon in late 1942). The Japanese built 44 subs that could carry a small float plane for reconnaissance. This idea was fine in theory, but much less successful in practice. The U.S. Navy’s proposed Cormorant submersible UAV was to enter service by 2010. But that didn’t happen in part because someone remembered that the United States has plenty of other satellite and long range UAVs that could provide most air reconnaissance needs of U.S. subs. Then someone began tinkering with the Tomahawk concept and now we have the XFC.

X-Wing Drone Launched From a Submerged Submarine for the First Time - Defense Update - Military Technology & Defense News
US Navy successfully launches XFC UAV from submerged submarine - Naval Technology 
Navy Launches UAV from Submerged Submarine - U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

The US Navy has recently demonstrated the launch of an all-electric, fuel cell-powered, unmanned aerial system (UAS) from a submerged submarine. For the test, an electrically powered mini drone was launched from the submarine’s torpedo tube using a ‘Sea Robin’ launch vehicle system. The Sea Robin is designed to fit within an empty Tomahawk Launching Canister (TLC), which is already familiar to submarine sailors.
Once deployed from the TLC, the Sea Robin launch vehicle with integrated XFC rose to the ocean surface where it appeared as a spar buoy. Upon command of Providence Commanding Officer, the XFC then vertically launched from Sea Robin and flew a successful several hour mission demonstrating live video capabilities streamed back to Providence, surface support vessels and Norfolk before landing at the Naval Sea Systems Command Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC), Andros, Bahamas.