"Cormorant" To Be Launched From Ballistic Missile Subs

CNN reported Friday that Lockheed-Martin's fabled Skunk Works -- of U-2 and SR-71 fame -- is now working on an unmanned spy aircraft called the Cormorant, that would start and end its missions 150 feet underwater.

As our head office is located in north central Florida, Aero-News staffers are quite familiar with cormorants -- dark, thin birds (above) that can usually be found roosting en masse near any body of water large enough to have at least a few fish in it. The large predatory birds have an imposing presence -- something the US Navy is very aware of.

The stealthy, jet-powered Cormorant could be fitted with either short-range weaponry, or surveillance equipment. Most intriguing, however, is its proposed launch method: the aircraft would be designed to launch out of missile tubes aboard the Navy's Cold War-era Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines.

To fit in those subs' seven-foot-wide missile tubes, the Cormorant would be fitted with folding wings to fit inside racks once designed to hold nuclear-tipped Trident missiles. The aircraft, constructed of titanium, would also be filled with dense foam and inert gases to help the aircraft withstand the pressure 150 feet under water.

Unlike those missiles, a Cormorant would not be launched vertically; instead, a docking arm would pluck the aircraft out of the tube while the submarine is underwater, sending the aircraft floating to the surface. Once the drone pops onto the surface, its engine would fire and the Cormorant would launch itself into the air... much like its avian namesake.

After completing its mission, the aircraft would return to rendezvous coordinates received from the sub, and land on the ocean. A robotic underwater vehicle would then be sent out to fetch the drone, and return it to the sub.

The project is being funded in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, with preliminary tests on a splashdown model of the aircraft and the recovery vehicle expected to be completed by September. After those tests are complete, DARPA will decide whether to fund a flying model.

FMI: www.darpa.gov, www.navy.mil