Electric Boat is currently exploring advanced concepts that will enable the U.S. Navy's submarine force to affordably maintain its undersea superiority in the 21st century. Conducted by the company's Concept Formulation (CONFORM) organization, these studies have produced a vision of the submarine of the future. The revolutionary platforms envisioned by our CONFORM group incorporate a variety of features including increased payload, radically improved acoustics, external weapons, conformal sensor arrays, adjunct vehicles, and reduced manning.

Two of the most promising technologies are an outgrowth of Electric Boat's participation on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Tango Bravo Program: shaftless propulsion, which would use electric motors to replace a propeller shaft and reduction gears; and X-Planes, which would replace hydraulics on the maneuvering planes with electromechanical actuators. In addition, Electric Boat is working with DARPA on a concept for a very high-speed underwater vessel, Underwater Express.

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