Kristen Smith 
HII has secured a Defense Innovation Unit contract to deliver a Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery, or TTLR, system designed to deploy and retrieve REMUS unmanned underwater vehicles from U.S. Navy submarines.
The system advances manned-unmanned teaming; supports intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions; and expands operational reach in contested environments, HII said Monday.
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What Is TTLR?
The TTLR capability is built to reduce personnel risk while increasing mission flexibility by enabling submarines to deploy and recover unmanned systems without diver assistance.
According to HII, the TTLR delivery contract builds on its experience as one of the Navy’s two nuclear-powered submarine builders and a major producer of UUVs.
“This contract award reflects HII’s 25-year leadership in advancing autonomous unmanned maritime platforms and integrating them into submarine operations,” said Duane Fotheringham, unmanned systems group president at HII Mission Technologies.
The contract follows a series of demonstrations validating submarine-based UUV operations.
The U.S. Navy, HII and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution conducted forward-deployed operations using a REMUS 600 vehicle from the USS Delaware, demonstrating autonomous launch and recovery through a submarine torpedo tube. Another testing effort at Seneca Lake verified the ability of the newer REMUS 620 to dock, launch and safely separate using a torpedo tube test fixture and enclosure system.
The Seneca Lake demonstration confirmed compatibility between REMUS 620 and Virginia-class submarine systems.
HII’s REMUS platforms — used by more than 30 countries — support missions including undersea intelligence, mine warfare and environmental sensing.
How Does This Fit Into HII’s Broader Strategy?
The DIU award aligns with HII’s push to integrate autonomous systems, modular technologies and open architecture platforms to support distributed maritime operations.
The company has been advancing a system-of-systems approach that combines submarines, unmanned surface and undersea vehicles, and mission management software to deliver coordinated effects across domains. Recent efforts include a partnership with Nominal to accelerate production and testing of REMUS platforms.
