HII has been awarded a contract by the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to deliver a submarine Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery (TTLR) system designed to autonomously deploy and recover the company’s REMUS unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) from US Navy submarines.
HII said the system is intended to support “manned–unmanned teaming” by allowing UUVs to be launched and recovered through standard submarine torpedo tube interfaces, potentially extending mission reach while reducing operational burden on crews.
Duane Fotheringham, president of the Unmanned Systems group in HII’s Mission Technologies division, said the company expects to continue work with the US Navy on integrating autonomous maritime platforms into submarine operations.
The contract follows a series of US Navy demonstrations involving torpedo tube launch and recovery of HII-built UUVs. In June 2025, the Navy and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) conducted what HII described as the first forward-deployed torpedo tube launch and recovery of a REMUS 600 UUV from the USS Delaware (SSN 791), including three autonomous launch and recovery sorties without diver assistance.
HII said the work was part of the Yellow Moray UUV capability effort and represented an operational step forward for autonomous underwater systems used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, as well as broader maritime operations.
In July 2025, HII said a joint team from HII, WHOI and the US Navy’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport completed a recovery of the latest generation REMUS 620 into a Virginia-class submarine torpedo tube and shutterway test fixture at Seneca Lake, New York.
During in-water testing, HII said the REMUS 620 demonstrated autonomous navigation and communications by docking with a shock and fire enclosure capsule (SAFECAP) inside a submerged torpedo tube test fixture, then executing reverse swim-out launch and separation procedures.
HII said it has delivered more than 750 REMUS vehicles to more than 30 countries, including 14 NATO members.
