In-depth communication

Raytheon has developed a technology that makes it possible to communicate with a submerged submarine at classified speeds and depths in real time.

The defence technology specialist demonstrated the new technology, called Deep Siren Tactical Paging (DSTP), for the UK's Royal Navy at an at-sea trial.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) reported that the Deep Siren system demonstrated ‘the first step toward a transformational capability that will change the way we operate submarines in the future’.

Raytheon claims national security interests require submarines to be fully interoperable with joint and coalition forces, but technical challenges have prevented this in the past. The company said DSTP overcomes this communication shortfall by giving operational commanders the ability to contact a submarine in real time, regardless of the submarine’s speed or depth.

The evaluation, which took place during the UK Royal Navy's TAURUS 09 deployment, follows US Navy testing conducted in 2008 that culminated with a successful military utility assessment.

Raytheon is also currently working on airborne certification of Deep Siren, which will allow the system's buoys to be deployed via aircraft.

‘The Deep Siren system is a vital command and control communications link that provides never-before available capability,’ said Jerry Powlen, vice-president of Raytheon’s network centric systems integrated communications systems. ‘This system once again demonstrated its utility and reliability, proving that we are ready to move forward with production.’

Raytheon claims the trial validated that DSTP system buoys can be used to communicate with submarines at underwater at ranges greater than 100 nautical miles (185km). The trial also reportedly demonstrated that Deep Siren can accelerate the process to communicate with a submarine by passing tactical messages between a commander and submarine in real time.

The Royal Navy used Deep Siren to share contact information with a submarine, providing positions for both friendly and enemy forces.

Raytheon's partners on the DSTP system are RRK Technologies and Ultra Electronics Maritime Systems.