Expendable Communications Buoys News

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $35.8m contract by the U.S. Navy to design and produce antenna buoy systems that will expand the communications capabilities of submarines while they are submerged. The Navy's Communications at Speed and Depth (CSD) program will use expendable submarine and air-launched communications buoys to enable submarines operating below periscope depth and at tactical speeds to communicate with surface ships and land-based assets via satellite networks. All classes of U.S. Navy submarines will be equipped with this capability. Under the contract, a Lockheed Martin-led industry team will develop three types of expendable communications buoys: two submarine-launched tethered buoys that provide real-time chat…