Sea Ferret
Encyclopedia
The Sea Ferret was a submarine-launched aerial reconnaissance drone under development by the United States Navy
, designed to
be launched from within a Sub-Harpoon missile canister and controlled by a submerged submarine to provide covert surveillance, weapons targeting, choke point interdiction, and battle damage assessment.
While its primary mission was reconnaissance, Sea Ferret was a weapon, carrying a nine-kilogram (20 lb) warhead, capable of destroying
smaller targets like command centers and surface-to-air missile
launchers.
Sea Ferret was under development by Northrop Grumman
Corporation since 1991, and was successfully demonstrated
onboard Asheville (SSN-758)
.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, designed to
be launched from within a Sub-Harpoon missile canister and controlled by a submerged submarine to provide covert surveillance, weapons targeting, choke point interdiction, and battle damage assessment.
While its primary mission was reconnaissance, Sea Ferret was a weapon, carrying a nine-kilogram (20 lb) warhead, capable of destroying
smaller targets like command centers and surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
launchers.
Sea Ferret was under development by Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
Corporation since 1991, and was successfully demonstrated
onboard Asheville (SSN-758)
USS Asheville (SSN-758)
USS Asheville , is a Los Angeles-class submarine. She is the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Asheville, North Carolina. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 26 November 1984 and her keel was laid...
.
General characteristics
- Weight: 145 lb (66 kg)
- Length: 75 in (1.9 m) long
- Range: 370 nautical miles (685 km)
- Loiter: 2 hours
- Speed: 300 knots (550 km/h) maximum, 80 knots (148 km/h) minimum
- Warhead: 20 lb (9 kg)