HII and the U.S. Navy are together making progress on developing the capability to launch and recover uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) from the torpedo tubes of Virginia-class submarines.
The company revealed a joint team from HII, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the U.S. Navy’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport had recently achieved a new milestone in the ongoing project.
HII’s second-generation REMUS 620 UUV was successfully recovered into a Virginia-class submarine torpedo tube at test carried out in Seneca Lake, New York.
As per the press statement: “An in-water test by the joint team confirmed the ability of REMUS 620 to conduct complex autonomous navigational and communication protocols in safely docking with the shock and fire enclosure capsule (SAFECAP) loaded into a submerged Virginia-class submarine fixture.
“The REMUS 620 also successfully demonstrated reverse swimout launch and safe separation during this test period.”
It remarked that the success “marks a major step forward in the U.S. Navy Submarine Force’s efforts to launch and recover autonomous undersea vehicles from submarine torpedo tubes.”
The work builds on the Yellow Moray project developing torpedo tube launch and recovery (TTL&R) technology.
President of the Unmanned Systems group in HII’s Mission Technologies division Duane Fotheringham said: “This successful docking validates the research and development investments and efforts of HII; specifically the REMUS 620 engineers working in close cooperation with our WHOI teammates.”
- You can read more details on the HII website