Underwater robotics specialist HonuWorx has become the first firm to win a defence contract via NATO DIANA’s Rapid Adoption Service.
The company’s flagship product, Loggerhead, is an autonomous uncrewed underwater vehicle (AUV) which deploys a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) with a 500m tether to conduct deep-water inspections and maintenance tasks.
It has won a contract from Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) for an engineering study focused on extending the operating depth of its uncrewed systems.
The standard AUV is rated to a depth of 500m; it is electrically powered via a hydrogen fuel cell, has a range of about 1,600 nautical miles, can operate in conditions up to Sea State 5, streams live video pictures via a linked surface buoy, and can be controlled from anywhere around the world via a web-based user interface.
In 2025 HonuWorx participated in the Critical Infrastructure and Logistics Challenge run by NATO’s DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic).
The DRDC contract is the first to be awarded under DIANA’s new Rapid Adoption Service, where the organisation can award R&D and prototype contracts for NATO members to accelerate adoption.
Section Head for Scientific and Engineering Trials DRDC’s Atlantic Research Centre Brian May explained: “HonuWorx’s proposed system, initially envisioned to support the offshore oil industry, holds the potential to allow Canadian defence research to effectively and efficiently operate and maintain future, deepwater power and data infrastructure and support the testing of emerging deep-sea technologies.”
And HonuWorx CEO Lee Wilson added: “Autonomous subsea systems are evolving from data collection platforms toward the delivery of real capability… This work focuses on extending that capability into deeper environments… and represents a further step toward operational deployment.”
NATO DIANA Acting MD Jyoti Hirani-Driver commented: “The Rapid Adoption Service is designed to help Allies move faster from identified capability need to real-world solutions. This contract… shows how Allied nations can quickly and collaboratively leverage DIANA to turn innovation into operational capability.”
- You can read more details on the NATO website, the DIANA website and the HonuWorx website