The Manta’s show up about halfway into the video
They are the yellow vehicles.
If you don’t know, MACC is a Navy Surface Warfare get-together on the Amphibious Base Little Creak, Norfolk. Where the military gets to talk directly and informally with privately industry. Tell them what they would very much like to be able to do on the water, and industry listens. And industry gets to show, tell and demo they’re latest innovations. Just about all ranks may walk by, and did, I think. From buyers to end-users. Yep, Seals were there too. They were just harder to spot.
On display the latest in: high speed small water craft; patrol boats, composite armor, lots of composites for all sorts of uses, remote weapons, night vision, virtual displays for remote unmanned craft, high peed small footprint engines, systems, sensors, in-water boat demos and of course, laser beams. Sorry. No photos allowed.
Those who know JMS know our Navy roots. Our two founders in their former lives were career Navy Captains. But JMS is at the conference to exhibit a concept underwater vehicle called “Mantaâ€. If you are at the show you well get a chance to look at a couple of scale models of the craft and a nifty animation. We hold two patents related to the Manta design. One for its innovative variable displacement system which allows it to change altitude expending only a fraction of the energy per pound of craft of traditional cylindrical sub designs. Combined with its hull form she can glide (descend and ascend) to new locations without the use of its more traditional propulsion systems also on board.
The second patent is for the Manta’s interior construction of concentric intersecting spheres; its pressure chambers arranged like…well…soap bubbles. If there was a more efficient way (in terms of strength distribution) for Mother Nature to have arranged those bubbles, she’d have done it.
The MACC attendees will picture the full size Manta used as a swimmer delivery vehicle or the smaller version as a remote, maybe even expendable, shallow water recon/sensor/weapon craft. Either application, because of the Manta’s innovative hull form, is perfect for shallow water or stealthy missions. The Manta has also been tow tank tested to be significantly more efficient than the Navy’s most efficient hull form of the Albacore submarine class.
Drop me a line if you’re interested in more info on Manta:
rick@jmsnet.com
