HII's Unmanned Vessel Will Be Fitted to Launch Unmanned Submersible
Huntington Ingalls Industries has designed and built a deployment system that will allow an unmanned surface vessel to autonomously launch and recover a autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), without human intervention. The launcher would give HII's new Romulus USV line the ability to conduct a wider range of survey and ISR work by pairing it with the company's own Remus AUV.
The first Romulus prototype is currently under construction. It is a midsize unmanned vessel with a speed of 25 knots and a range of 2,500 miles. Early renderings show that it has a crewboat layout with a long aft deck, suitable for modular payloads.
HII envisions a wide variety of roles for Romulus, including ISR, counter-drone, mine countermeasures, strike, and the launch and recovery of unmanned platforms. Remus - with 750 units in operation - ranks high on the candidate list for pairing with Romulus. In naval service, Remus is used for seabed survey, deep sea search, mine countermeasures and surveillance, extending the reach of manned assets. With an automated launch and recovery system, Remus would be deployable from an unmanned platform - and easier to use for a manned vessel, too. Over-the-side launch and recovery is inherently risky for human personnel, so HII sees safety benefits from automating that process as well.
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
The first Romulus prototype is under construction at Breaux Brothers, a midsize shipyard that is new to defense work. HII said that work is moving fast - in keeping with the speed of its many competitors in the startup world, like Saronic and Anduril.
"Romulus is progressing at a pace that reflects the urgency of the mission and the strength of our partnerships," said Andy Green, president of HII’s Mission Technologies division, in a statement last month.
Content Original Link:
" target="_blank">
