Undersea drones are becoming increasingly sophisticated with a growing range of capabilities. Equipped with a growing array of sensors, sophisticated propulsion systems, and advanced software, these machines are taking on a variety of missions and gathering critical information for navies around the world.
Now, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), a military shipbuilding company, has revealed a new medium-class unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) – the REMUS 620.
Developed based on the design of the US Navy’s REMUS 300, the REMUS 620 is equipped with multiple batteries that can last for up to 110 hours and has a range of 275 nautical miles (509 km), providing unmatched mission capabilities for mine countermeasures, hydrographic surveys, intelligence collection, surveillance, and electronic warfare.
Its increased battery life enables it to execute a significantly longer route to and from a mission area than previously afforded by medium-class vehicles. The modular design allows the battery to be quickly swapped for quick turnaround and incorporation of alternative energy sources as they become available. A standard synthetic aperture sonar payload can also be replaced or enhanced for multi-mission capabilities, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and cyber and electronic warfare operations.
Additionally, the REMUS 620 features a modular, open architecture design to facilitate seamless payload integration and HII’s Odyssey suite of advanced autonomy solutions for intelligent, robotic platforms.
Multiple REMUS 620s can be deployed from submarines, small manned or unmanned boats, amphibious ships, surface combatants, and helicopters. In addition to performing underwater surveillance, the REMUS 620 can also be used as a platform to launch and operate other unmanned vehicles or payloads from beneath the sea.
“Retaining a forward strategic advantage requires the ability to deliver a multitude of effects from under the sea,” said Duane Fotheringham, president of Mission Technologies’ Unmanned Systems business group. “The REMUS 620 is the first medium UUV designed to accurately deliver this range of advanced above-and-below water effects at long range.”
