Subsea Defense News

Trump Order Fast Tracks Subsea Mining

President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at boosting the deep-sea mining industry, marking his latest attempt to boost U.S. access to nickel, copper and other critical minerals used widely across the economy.The order, which Trump signed in private, seeks to jumpstart the mining of both U.S. and international waters as part of a push to offset China's sweeping control of the critical minerals industry.Parts of the Pacific Ocean and elsewhere are estimated to contain large amounts of potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules filled with the building blocks for electric vehicles

NUWC Division Newport: $2 Billion Impact on Economy in 2024

The total funded program of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport reached $2 billion in 2024, according to the recently released economic impact report.Of its total operating budget, $776 million was spent by Division Newport in civilian payroll and labor, materials, operational expenditures, property maintenance and repair, and military payroll, while $1.2 billion funded contracts.One of two divisions of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport has a workforce comprised of 51% government civilian employees, 48% support contractor employees and 0.38% military staff.

Vatn Systems, Palantir Partner to Scale Manufacturing of AUVs for National Defense

Vatn Systems, a leading defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for the US military and allies, announced a strategic partnership with Palantir Technologies to further digitize and scale its manufacturing capabilities."Palantir's technology gives us real-time visibility into our operations, strengthening our ability to anticipate challenges, optimize resources, and deliver critical systems to our customers with unprecedented speed and precision," said Nelson Mills, co-founder and CEO of Vatn Systems.The partnership leverages Palantir's software

Undersea Warfighting Development Center Leadership Visits NUWC Division Newport

A constant co-evolution of technology and operational concepts is critical to providing the best warfighting capabilities possible to the U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet. In support of that mission, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport and the Undersea Warfighting Development Center (UWDC) continue to have a strong working relationship.On March 31, the warfare center welcomed UWDC Commander Rear Adm. Michael R. Van Poots and some of the organization’s senior leaders for a full day of tours and discussions. Van Poots was joined by Dennis Boyer, SES, deputy commander; Capt.

HII Delivers Initial Lionfish UUVs to U.S. Navy

HII has delivered the first two Lionfish small uncrewed undersea vehicles (SUUVs) to the U.S. Navy under a program that could scale to 200 vehicles, with a contract value exceeding $347 million.Lionfish is based on HII’s REMUS 300 platform, a modular, open-architecture SUUV engineered for multi-mission adaptability and the program was developed in collaboration with the U.S. Navy and Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), to accelerate the adoption of dual-use commercial technologies into U.S. Department of Defense programs.The Lionfish SUUV is a cyber-compliant uncrewed underwater vehicle.HII was

DoD Looks for Advance Underwater Communication Solutions

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has announced funding opportunities as part of the AUKUS Maritime Innovation Challenge 2025 for commercial technologies to solve undersea and information warfare issues.As the second collaboration launched between the U.S.'s Defense Innovation Unit, Australia's Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator, and the UK's Defence and Security Accelerator, the Challenge is seeking commercial companies with solutions that will enhance the tactical and operational capabilities of undersea command, control and communications while maintaining the integrity and

First Dutch Navy Mine Countermeasure Vessel Starts Sea Trials

The Vlissingen, the second of the series of mine countermeasures vessels (MCM) of the Belgian-Dutch rMCM program, first intended for the Royal Netherlands Navy, has commenced sea trials.The specialized and cyber secured by design MCM vessels are the first to have the capability to embark and launch a combination of surface drones (themselves 12-metre, 19- tonne vessels), underwater drones and aerial drones.The mine countermeasures vessels will use a mainly autonomous system for detection, classification, identification and neutralization of mines This approach with an unmanned integrated system

HII Sells Over 700 REMUS Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles

HII, America’s largest shipbuilder and all-domain technologies and solutions provider, has sold more than 700 REMUS uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) to customers globally.The REMUS UUV family delivers critical advantages across modern naval operations, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare, and electronic warfare. These autonomous systems can operate independently or be teamed with crewed platforms — such as Virginia-class nuclear submarines — expanding operational reach while reducing detection risk and

VideoRay, BlueHalo Awarded $30.7M Navy Contract

VideoRay, a BlueHalo company, was awarded a $30,735,784 contract to provide systems engineering and support services for the company's Mission Specialist Defender systems, the Maritime Expeditionary Standoff Response (MESR) remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The five-year contract was issued by the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific and supports the U.S. Navy’s ongoing operations utilizing the Mission Specialist Defender systems.The award follows the U.S. Navy’s $92.6 M MESR contract awarded to VideoRay in May 2024 and further reinforces the company’s role in supporting

Greensea IQ Contract to Further Develop USN Autonomous Vehicle

as an upgrade solution for systems currently running Greensea’s defense software suite and is used throughout Greensea’s own robot product line.  Greensea is augmenting IQNS for this program with advanced autonomy capabilities for acquiring, classifying, and eventually neutralizing subsea threats while maintaining a significant standoff for EOD personnel. This new development is capable of upgrading the existing fleet of VideoRay Defender ROVs currently employed by the Navy and other defense forces.The Phase 4 objective of this contract focuses on further developing EOD Edge to incorporate

US Navy Launches Attack Submarine USS Idaho

One of the U.S. Navy’s newest attack submarines, the future USS Idaho (SSN 799), launched from General Dynamics Electric Boat’s Groton, Ct. shipyard into the Thames River, August 6.The "float off," or launch, is a milestone in a submarine's construction, marking the moment it leaves the shipbuilder's facilities and enters the water for the first time, signaling the start of final outfitting, testing and crew certification.“Today’s launch is testament to the strong collaboration the Navy has with its shipbuilding partners,” said Capt. Mike Hollenbach

north.io Selected for Portuguese Hydrographic Institute Project

underwater assets.The Argus project addresses the challenges posed by "ghost ships"—vessels that deliberately conceal their position—and aims to provide real-time data analysis for underwater infrastructure. Collaborating with the GEOMAR-Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Subsea Europe Services GmbH, north.io says it is set to transform how geodata is utilized for security and decision-making, ultimately enhancing Germany's capacity to safeguard critical maritime infrastructure

Kraken Wraps Up High-Res Route Survey Work in Australia

Canadian company Kraken Robotics has completed a contract to supply high-resolution seabed mapping sonar service to Precision Hydrographic Services (PHS), a customer supporting the Australian Department of Defence.The Australian Department of Defence project sought to undertake Hydrographic High Resolution Route Surveys (RS) for a number of Australian ports.The purpose of these surveys was to enable the collection of Maritime Geospatial Information (MGI) to support maritime domain awareness through the acquisition of high-resolution seabed foundation data and associated oceanographic data.Under the

Canada Plans to Acquire Up to 12 Submarines

Canada, looking to shore up its defense of the Arctic, is moving ahead to acquire up to 12 submarines and has started a formal process to meet with manufacturers, the defense ministry said.Canada updated its defense policy this year with a focus on protecting the Arctic and dealing with challenges from Russia and China. The procurement of submarines is a critical step in implementing that strategy, the defense ministry said in a statement.Citing global warming, Canada says the Arctic Ocean could become the most efficient shipping route between Europe and East Asia By 2050, thus raising the need to

Germany, Eight Other Baltic Sea Nations Seek to Jointly Buy Naval Mines

Germany and eight other countries on the Baltic Sea aim to jointly procure naval mines, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday, as Russia is taking an increasingly assertive stance in the Baltic Sea region.Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, Pistorius said Russia had been challenging the borders in the Baltic Sea time and again."Just recently we have seen how Russia tries to extend Russian territorial waters outside Kaliningrad. We are all unmistakably clear that we will not allow such advances," he said."To that end, we need the

MTR100: Profiling Subea Leaders - Apply Today!

In its September/October 2024 edition, Marine Technology Reporter will publish the 19th Annual MTR100. The MTR100 is a report and ranking of the 100 leading companies, people and technologies in the global subsea sector. Here’s a link to the 2023 edition.This is editorial, this is free, but to be considered for inclusion you must apply. The application can be found here: https://mtr100.marinetechnologynews.com/Company/

L3Harris, Seasats Trial Autonomous Ops

L3Harris Technologies joined maritime startup Seasats to test the advanced capabilities of an autonomous surface vessel (ASV) in the Pacific Ocean.Seasats and L3Harris demonstrated reliable, resilient and effective operations off the coast of Hawaii with a surfboard-size ASV after completing a 2,500-mile journey from San Diego, California, to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The 10-week voyage also proved the ASV’s seaworthiness while continuously operating in challenging conditions.“The ability of ASVs to prove their prolonged and reliable operations in the ocean is critical for establishing their

Ukraine's Drone Success Shapes US Pacific 'Hellscape' Strategy

On a website run by the Ukrainian security service, donors anywhere in the world can pledge money to build Ukraine's cutting-edge "Sea Baby" unmanned maritime drones.It is a slick, professional site offering donors the chance to sign up for newsletters or even name the drone themselves if they donate the full $220,000 cost.Only six meters (20 feet) long and 60 cm (two feet) high above the water level, the craft can carry up to 850 kg of explosives up to 1,000 km (620 miles), often largely undetected thanks to its low profile and stealth material construction.Along with Ukraine's

Survitec Snags JMSDF Submarine Escape Suit Contract

Survitec won a multi-year servicing contract from Sojitz Aerospace, on behalf of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF), to service Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment (SEIE) MK11 suits carried on board its submarine fleet.With this contract, the company sets a new precedent, establishing an in-country servicing capability to accommodate the JMSDF’s SEIE servicing and maintenance requirements through a strategic partnership with Kawasaki head-quartered Marinair Liferaft Co. Ltd.Marinair Liferaft Co. will undertake the servicing of the SEIE MK11 suits in Japan in collaboration with