American defence firm L3Harris has been awarded a contract to supply a system to launch and recover underwater drones from U.S. Navy submarines.
As per a company press statement, last month it was awarded an Other Transaction Authority contract from the Department of War’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to deliver a Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery (TTLR) system.
The TTLR allows submarines to launch and recover Iver4 900 autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) via the boat’s torpedo tubes.
A company spokesman declined to give details about the number of systems ordered, or the contract’s value and planned timeframes. As to which platform or platforms they will be fitted, they said: “The system has been validated by U.S. and allied navies. For operational security reasons, we are unable to discuss specific platforms or deployment details.”
L3Harris’ President of its Maritime, Space & Mission Systems division Nino DiCosmo commented: “The Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery system is not a future capability, it’s answering combatant commander needs today.”
Mr DiCosmo also claimed the L3Harris system had been “the first to successfully launch and recover AUVs from a submarine.”
Expanding on that, the L3Harris spokesman said the company had achieved several industry firsts, including launching and autonomously recovering an AUV from an underway U.S. Navy submarine back in January 2023.
They added subsequent continued successful testing had followed this milestone, including in November 2024 deploying the first lithium-ion battery technology in an AUV approved for submarine use by the U.S. Navy.
In addition, the spokesman said last year L3Harris had become the first company to launch and autonomously recover an AUV with the U.K. Royal Navy.
Previously in May 2025 the U.S. Navy had also reported it had successfully launched and recovered an HII Remus 600 Yellow Moray UUV operationally from the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Delaware.
- You can read more details about the new TTLR deal on the L3Harris website