Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has confirmed that its REMUS 300 UUV (unmanned underwater vehicle) has been selected for the U.S. Navy’s next generation small UUV program of record. The initial phase of the program, to be conducted over the next year, will include the production and testing of the UUVs
HII’s REMUS 300 technology was designed to advance distributed maritime operations by conducting critical underwater missions. The vehicle incorporates advanced modularity and open architecture into a compact, man-portable design.
The SUUV program, also known as Lionfish, is the next generation of the Mk18 Mod 1 Swordfish program, which also utilizes HII’s REMUS technology. The selection follows a two-year rapid prototyping effort involving multiple user evaluations and spiral developments to refine the REMUS 300 design. The acquisition was facilitated by the Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit.
Chris Kastner, president and CEO of HII, commented: “HII is proud of our longstanding partnership with the U.S. Navy and now, to lead in this important direction on behalf of our customer. This program demonstrates the value of our investment in autonomous and unmanned systems, and our customer familiarity. We are confident that these technologies will both support the Navy mission and enhance effectiveness for the all-domain force.”
Andy Green, executive vice president of HII and president of HII’s Mission Technologies division, noted: “I am very proud of our talented team and see this as an important milestone in supporting the Navy’s and allies’ unmanned strategy now and into the future. The REMUS 300 is the most advanced small UUV on the market and will provide capabilities that are essential to the Navy mission.”
Duane Fotheringham, president of the unmanned systems business group in HII’s Mission Technologies division, said: “REMUS UUVs have been extending the capabilities of the warfighter since they were first used in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. We’ve been enhancing, maturing and refining this technology since then, and are pleased the REMUS 300 meets needs for the Navy’s next generation UUV program.”
