US Navy Advances Torpedo-Tube Launched AUV Capabilities with REMUS 620 Trial
The US Navy (USN) is continuing to develop different generations of its REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) family for submarine torpedo-tube launch and recovery (TTL&R), with the successful trial of a REMUS 620 medium AUV from a test fixture in early October.
In a statement, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) – one of the USN’s two Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) builders, alongside General Dynamics Electric Boat – said the test was the first torpedo-tube recovery and ‘swimout’ of a 620 vehicle. The statement also referred to the successful test as a key milestone in the USN’s progress of SSN-launched uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) operations.
The first REMUS vehicle to be developed with this capability was the REMUS 600. Under the ‘Yellow Moray’ operational program, the vehicle is now deployed operationally onboard the Virginia-class SSN USS Delaware. Speaking at the Combined naval Event 2025 conference in the UK in mid-May, Vice Admiral Rob Gaucher – the USN’s Commander, Submarine Forces (COMSUBFOR) – declared that capability as operational. The admiral added this was the first step along the navy’s pathway to having UUVs deployed on at least one SSN ’24/7, 365′.
The latest REMUS 620 trial, which occurred at seneca Lake, NY, saw a joint team from the USN’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport (NUWC Newport), HII, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) use a 1:1 scale Virginia torpedo tube and ‘shutterway’ (torpedo-tube external door) test fixture to carry out an in-water evaluation of the vehicle’s ability to conduct the required navigational and communications protocols to dock safely with a shock and fire enclosure capsule (SAFECAP) system loaded into the submerged, fixed Virginia tube. The vehicle also demonstrated a successful reverse ‘swimout’ launch and separation.
The test was the next step in a process underway for several years, but now being accelerated to meet the navy’s operational requirement for rapid capability deployment.
“We leveraged WHOI’s previous three years of TTL&R work, lessons learned, and expertise to greatly accelerate our progress in successfully getting to this meaningful milestone,” Duane Fotheringham, president of the unmanned systems group in HII’s mission Technologies division, said in the statement.
Key technology lessons learned related to vehicle control, communications protocols between the vehicle and the submarine interface, and the vehicle’s autonomous decision-making protocols, areas iterated repeatedly over those three years by WHOI as it developed the capability for the USN, Fotheringham told Naval News.
US Navy Advances Torpedo Tube Launched Unmanned Vehicle Capabilities with Successful Testing
The US Navy (USN) is rapidly developing its ability to launch and recover unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) directly from submarine torpedo tubes, a capability crucial for securing underwater infrastructure and supporting broader strategic goals. Recent successful testing of the REMUS 600 UUV, integrated with docking technology from the ‘Yellow Moray’ program, marks a significant milestone in this effort. The testing took place at the Virginia-class Cradle Payload integration Facility (VCCPIF),utilizing the boat’s Mk71 torpedo tube.
The latest test was completed in under seven months after integrating the ‘Yellow Moray’/REMUS 600 docking technology into the 620. Carl Hartsfield, director and senior programme manager at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s (WHOI) Oceanographic Systems Lab, highlighted the speed of development, stating, “Despite a highly compressed schedule, our teams rapidly conducted testing runs, quickly evaluated the data, and made substantive adjustments to the vehicle.” https://news.usni.org/2024/03/14/navy-successfully-tests-remus-600-uuv-launch-and-recovery-from-virginia-class-submarine
A key innovation demonstrated in the testing was the use of “reverse ‘swimout'” for both vehicle launch and recovery.This method simplifies the Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery (TTL&R) process. As Hartsfield explained, “Forward ‘swimout’ would require that the vehicle be disassembled and turned around in the torpedo room after recovery. It would also require two latching mechanisms,to restrain the vehicle by the tail before launch and by the nose after recovery: with reverse ‘swimout’,the latching remains consistent for TTL&R.” He further noted that maneuvering into the tube under a constrained condition, while moving forward with maximum control, is the most challenging aspect of the cycle.
The acceleration of the TTL&R program began in 2021 with a rapid spiral development effort on ‘Yellow Moray’ employing a ‘fail fast’ mentality,culminating in successful testing in December 2023. https://news.usni.org/2024/03/14/navy-successfully-tests-remus-600-uuv-launch-and-recovery-from-virginia-class-submarine Hartsfield also emphasized the benefit of the REMUS’s dual-use nature – applicable to both scientific and defense applications – fostering a collaborative development culture between WHOI and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Newport.
Operational and strategic Implications
The USN’s push for advanced TTL&R capabilities is driven by both immediate operational needs and long-term strategic considerations.
Operationally, this capability will allow submarines to better protect critical underwater infrastructure from emerging threats to the seabed. For example, the USS New Mexico, a Virginia-class submarine, previously demonstrated the deployment of an effector to the seabed using a UUV and special forces divers launched from its lockout trunk. Once deployed, the divers remotely operated the UUV. https://news.usni.org/2022/08/18/uss-new-mexico-demonstrates-seabed-warfare-capabilities-with-uuv-deployment
Strategically, the AUKUS (Australia/UK/US) security pact, particularly Pillar 2’s focus on developing new concepts and capabilities centered around autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), is accelerating the development and deployment of new technologies across partner navies. This collaboration is pushing for increased output and faster delivery of advanced capabilities to operators.