HQ086024C7001

Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Phase I

Expendable Ship Launched Sensor via HellHivesÖ

Expendable Ship Launched Sensor

HellHives have already demonstrated successful launchings and flights of multiple types of individual UAVs and Swarms from ships at sea (manned ships/boats, and unmanned surface vehicles). HellHive demonstrations include field testing at Camp Roberts, Yuma, and private test ranges. HellHives existing UAV/Swarm in-flight guidance and control capabilities aboard ship at sea include HoloWarrior/ATAK for TeleOp, Semi-Autonomy, and Full Autonomy modes, along with transfer of control between human operators and Artificial Intelligent Agents. In addition to HoloWarrior, VRR also supports guidance and control capabilities thru opensource and free ArduPilot Mission Planner, Q-Control, along with use of TARDEC s Scalable Soldier Machine Interface used as middleware . VRR envisions integration with existing ship systems such as messaging protocols with existing Mk 53 Nuka DLS to be low-risk and near-term. VRR s modular add-on approach intents are to add capabilities to existing systems and require minimal if any changes to existing systems. Innovatively, HellHives are inexpensive internal modifications to existing mil-std containers to evolve them into launch systems for individual or swarms of existing expendable UAV designs, including but not limited to VRR s own expendable M-3 Bees, COTS Racer Drones, and a wide range of existing inexpensive COTS drones that low-costs make them expendable. HellHives enable vertical stacking of multiple drones, and multiple stacks per container (swarm size depending on ratio of UAV size to container size); Further, multiple HellHives can be common controlled to enable very large swarms to be rapidly launched and employed. Relevant to this MDA effort, HellHives can be also used with aircraft (manned and unmanned) to air-deploy UAVs/Swarms providing additional CONOPS. Full Disclosure: Based upon VRR Phase-I successes of MotherShips providing range and duration increases to Swarms of smaller UAVs; DTRA has awarded VRR a Phase-II for HellHives that both air-deploy and air-recover swarms, inclusive of automated recharging of swarms for additional repeatable missions. Successful demonstrations already include COTS medium lift UAVs as MotherShip to 16 Micro Group M-3 Bees, and Indago/M-3 Bees as MotherShips to 4 COTS CrazyFlie Nano UAVs. MDA efforts with HellHives on ships can launch MotherShips which increase the range and durations of the swarms of smaller UAVs for longer range providing of tracking information, for deploying swarms of decoys, laying mines, etc. Towards early additional field testing and evolutions on other funding, Army DoD Rapid Prototyping/IIS has purchased HellHives with M-3 Drone Swarms and in joint efforts with MARCORSYSCOM plan EOD focused uses from 130 ship and smaller boats. Aegis Weapon Systems Programs of Record transitions are supported by VRR s own Ender s Game blurring of realistic simulations to real-world operations, exactly aligned with Aegis development and transition methods. Approved for Public Release | 23-MDA-11635 (9 Nov 23)

The goal of phase I is to establish the technical merit, feasibility, and commercial potential of proposed R&D efforts and determine the quality of performance of the small business awardee organization.

MDA23-001

B231-001-0054

23.1

Mda S Pmo