[SatNews] Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), leading the way for a new class of ocean-going unmanned surface vessels (USVs).

Under the terms of the $2 million contract, Northrop Grumman will develop a concept, specifications and a manufacturing plan by the end of March 2011 for a persistent, autonomous vessel that can perform both ASW tracking and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance functions. The ACTUV is intended to trail and monitor targets autonomously. A collection of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and advanced, customized sensors would provide the ACTUV's command and control system with the situational awareness it needs to respond to target behaviors. High-fidelity surface-navigation sensors and system constraints would help ensure compliance with the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) and with maritime law.

Northrop Grumman leads a strong ACTUV team of technology leaders. These include Harris Inc. of Melbourne, Fla., a world leader in assured communications; Spatial Integrated Systems of Virginia Beach, Va., a premier USV autonomy provider; Vehicle Control Technologies Inc. of Reston, Va., developer of more than 340 vehicle control systems; and The Pennsylvania State University, Advanced Research Laboratory of State College, Pa., a leader in unmanned vehicle propulsion and power systems.

Over the past decade, Northrop Grumman's Undersea Systems business unit has successfully developed and integrated numerous USVs, including the U.S. Navy's Spartan and the Naval Expeditionary Overwatch (NEO) USVs. To enhance flexibility and enable future growth as missions evolve, Northrop Grumman's ACTUV will employ open standards, COTS components and a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), all of which enable low-cost, high-volume manufacturing.