22:42 28-04-2026

HII Unveils New Submarine Drone Launch System

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Steven Myers, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

HII secures Pentagon contract to create autonomous REMUS drone launch and recovery system for submarines, eliminating need to surface or use divers.

The American shipbuilding corporation HII has secured a contract to develop a fundamentally new system commissioned by the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). The project involves creating a комплекс that enables the launch and recovery of REMUS unmanned underwater vehicles directly through the torpedo tube of a nuclear submarine.

Unlike previous methods that required divers or surfacing, the new technology ensures a fully autonomous process. A submarine will be able to deploy and retrieve REMUS without changing course or depth.

The system has already been tested in real-world conditions. In June 2025, the nuclear submarine Delaware (Virginia-class) successfully conducted three fully autonomous launch and recovery operations of the REMUS 600 during an overseas deployment. In July, at Seneca Lake, specialists from HII, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport carried out the first successful return of the REMUS 620 back into a torpedo tube.

The company stated that the contract reflects over 25 years of HII’s leadership in developing autonomous maritime unmanned platforms and integrating them into undersea operations.

To date, HII has delivered more than 750 REMUS systems to 30 countries, including 14 NATO members. More than 90% of these systems remain operational even after two decades. The value of the new contract has not been disclosed.