Autonomous Submersible Offshore Marine Platform

Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to provide a means of constructing an Autonomous fully-Submersible Offshore Marine Platform (ASOMP) of considerable warfighting or commercial capability which is mobile and can autonomously transport to a hazardous operating area in a low-observable reduced vulnerability manner, fully submerge to avoid the military or environmental threat hazard, hibernate until needed, perform fully submerged mobility and mission operations, surface and provide Barge and SWATH surface ship mobility and mission operations, resubmerge if the hazardous threat appears and relocate to a new operating area. Another object of the present invention is to provide a fully autonomous and submersible low-cost “lily-pad” that surfaces when called and provides a main deck platform at appropriate freeboard and seakeeping motions to function as a refueling landing zone and pier to extend the range of aircraft and marine vehicles operating in a high-threat environment.

Description

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]Provisional application No. 62 / 587,008 filed on 16 Nov. 2017 with Amendment 1 (30 Jan. 2018), Amendment 2 (8 Mar. 2018) and Amendment 3 (29 Mar. 2018).FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH[0002]NoneBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Traditional surface offshore marine platforms are uniquely capable of providing payload-capable, low-motion main decks for at-sea aviation flight operations, mission systems operations and logistic distribution to other surface vessels and ashore elements for low-level hazardous areas. Unfortunately, these platforms are designed to operate only on the water surface and cannot escape from the hazard by operating fully-submerged which makes them extremely vulnerable to military and environmental threats. This vulnerability results in the need for the surface offshore marine platforms to be large and expensive and require significant crew and capabilities to minimize susceptibility to a hazardous area's damage and casualty...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent is about a new type of storage / transport ship that can be used in hazardous areas. It can self-submerge to avoid safety threats, move underground, and quickly surface if needed. It can also be quickly re-submerged and repositioned to continue its mission. This ship is designed to be durable and flexible, with high-capacity propulsion and mission capabilities added as needed. Overall, this ship provides a unique capability for safely performing infiltration missions in high-threat areas with limited exposure to damages.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, these platforms are designed to operate only on the water surface and cannot escape from the hazard by operating fully-submerged which makes them extremely vulnerable to military and environmental threats.

This vulnerability results in the need for the surface offshore marine platforms to be large and expensive and require significant crew and capabilities to minimize susceptibility to a hazardous area's damage and casualty.

When the operating environment's hazardous threat level increases beyond the capabilities of the surface offshore marine platform due to an increase in a military adversary's offensive capability or extreme weather conditions the surface offshore marine platform must be moved outside the range of the military or environmental threat resulting in a loss of military or commercial mission capability and availability.

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