Miles Jamison 
HII, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the U.S. Navy’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport have collaborated to conduct the first successful recovery of a second-generation REMUS 620 unmanned undersea vehicle into a Virginia-class submarine torpedo tube and shutterway test fixture.
Autonomous Docking & Launch
The demonstration, held at Seneca Lake, New York, validated the capability of submarines to safely launch and retrieve UUVs during missions, significantly expanding undersea operational capacity for the Navy Submarine Force, HII said Monday. During the joint team’s in-water test, the REMUS 620 autonomously navigated and communicated while safely docking with the shock and fire enclosure, or SAFECAP, capsule inside a submerged Virginia-class submarine fixture. The UUV also completed a reverse swimout launch and clean separation.
The submarine test follows the integration of WHOI’s Yellow Moray torpedo tube launch and recovery technology into the REMUS 620, completed less than seven months ago.
HII Executive on Submarine Test
“This successful docking validates the research and development investments and efforts of HII; specifically the REMUS 620 engineers working in close cooperation with our WHOI teammates. 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 important milestone,” said Duane Fotheringham, president of unmanned systems at HII’s Mission Technologies.
