HII is proud that two of HII’s advanced capabilities — the Virginia-class submarine USS Delaware (SSN 791), built by Newport News Shipbuilding, A Division of HII, and the REMUS medium unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), built by HII Unmanned Systems — will be operationally deployed together to enhance the mission capabilities of the US Navy.

For the past six months, the Navy has been studying the integration of uncrewed systems in a program out of Naval Forces Europe-Africa. Task Force 66, established in November, is similar to Task Force 59 in Central Command or Southern Command’s hybrid force, Rear Adm. Michael Mattis told USNI News last week. The task force is made up of 40 civilian and military personnel, according to a Navy release announcing the creation.

VideoRay LLC, a rapidly growing defense technology company, announced today that it has been awarded a $92.6M USD five-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract for the continuous production, sustainment, and development of the MK20 Defender Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) platform for the US Navy’s Maritime Expeditionary Standoff Response (MESR).

The U.S. Navy selected Anduril and its Dive family of large autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to prototype distributed, long-range, persistent underwater sensing and payload delivery in contested environments. Anduril provides a family of AI-enabled AUVs that are designed to perform a wide range of defense and commercial missions.

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s Task Force 59 commissioned a new task group focused on unmanned operations during a ceremony here, Jan. 3. The task group, known as Task Group 59.1, focuses on the operational deployment of unmanned systems teamed with manned operators to bolster maritime security across the Middle East region.

The U.S. Navy’s newest Overlord Unmanned Surface Vessel Vanguard (OUSV3), was recently launched from Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. Vanguard is the first USV for the Navy purpose-built for autonomous operations from the keel-up.

Greensea IQ is the first to successfully complete a demonstration of a prototype Autonomous EOD Maritime Response Vehicle (AEMRV) for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and US Navy.

Exail, formerly iXblue, recently took part in the Digital Horizon Unmanned & Artificial Intelligence Exercise in Bahrain, organized by the US Navy. The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet held the three-week exercise in December to test new unmanned technologies, as part of its plans to establish the world’s first Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) fleet of one hundred drones in the Gulf by the end of the summer.

SeeByte Ltd, the global leader of smart software solutions for uncrewed maritime systems, has been awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite- quantity (IDIQ) contract to support the US Navy’s MK18 Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle Family of Systems program.

Marine Software Pioneer, Greensea Systems Inc. has recently been awarded a contract for a 2-year Phase II Option Period by the US Navy’s Office of Naval Research to continue the technology development for an Autonomous Hull Cleaning Vehicle. This is a continuation of the work that Greensea has been conducting through a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program since 2018.

Greensea's open architecture technology on Remotely Operated Vehicles furthered by Small Business Innovation Research Phase II grant Greensea Systems, Inc. creator of OPENSEA®, the open architecture robotics platform for the marine industry, is pleased to announce the award of a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) ASAP grant totaling $1,100,000, with option for additional funding, for the continued development of Standoff Command and Control of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs).

Teledyne RD Instruments’ (TRDI) new ultra-compact 600 kHz Pathfinder Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) has been selected by Riptide to provide precision navigation capability for their Micro UUV for a recent order for the US Navy. The Pathfinder delivers a small form factor, advanced features, and Teledyne’s extensive track-record for delivering proven navigation solutions. Riptide’s Micro UUV has quickly gained favor within the marine industry for its highly flexible, open source design, which provides users with an affordable platform well suited for new autonomy, power system, subsea sensor, and payload development.

KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) announced that, consistent with a decision by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the award of a $515 million fixed price with award fee contract to KBR Diego Garcia, LLC will stand. The work on the contract, awarded in May by Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific, will begin in November 2017.