Lockheed plans web access for subs

Lockheed Martin is working on a program to give their submarines phone and Internet access while submerged, according to a report from Wired's Danger Room.

Lockheed's subs can now receive Internet messages and other forms of communication at very low bit-rates, but cannot respond without coming up for air or raising an antenna above the surface.

“Most people think our submarines … can make phone calls whenever they want at a moment’s notice … but our subs do not have that luxury,” Lockheed project chief Rod Reints told Wired.

If successful, Lockheed's Communications at Speed and Depth program will create the first-ever two-way underwater communication for submarines.

Lockheed is teaming with subcontractors Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems and ERAPSCO to develop communications buoys that will allow subs to chat, transfer files and send e-mails while below the surface. Phone calls will also be possible, though Reints said that is not a central aim of the project.

Developers say two buoys will be tethered to each sub, allowing them to communicate through a fiber optic cable. The batteries for the tethered system will last up to 30 minutes; once power runs out, the buoy sinks itself.

The first buoys are scheduled to be delivered to the Navy by January for testing.