REMUS 620 Conducts First Torpedo Tube Recovery and Swimout

Joint Team Hits Key Milestone in Submarine-Launched UUV Ops

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., (Oct. 6, 2025) — A joint team from HII (NYSE: HII), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the U.S. Navy’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport (NUWC Division Newport) has successfully completed the first recovery of a second-generation REMUS 620 into a Virginia-class submarine torpedo tube and shutterway test fixture at Seneca Lake, New York.

This milestone, achieved less than seven months after integrating WHOI’s Yellow Moray torpedo tube launch and recovery (TTL&R) technology into the next-generation REMUS 620 medium unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV), marks a major step forward in the U.S. Navy Submarine Force’s efforts to launch and recover autonomous undersea vehicles from submarine torpedo tubes.

An in-water test by the joint team confirmed the ability of REMUS 620 to conduct complex autonomous navigational and communication protocols in safely docking with the shock and fire enclosure capsule (SAFECAP) loaded into a submerged Virginia-class submarine fixture. The REMUS 620 also successfully demonstrated reverse swimout launch and safe separation during this test period.

“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 the Unmanned Systems group in HII’s Mission Technologies division.

Carl Hartsfield, director and senior program manager at Oceanographic Systems Lab (OSL) of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, stated: “Despite a highly compressed schedule, our teams rapidly conducted testing runs, quickly evaluated the data, and made substantive adjustments to the vehicle. This is a real testament to the teamwork and professionalism between our three organizations. The REMUS 620 team’s thorough preparation working hand in hand with our technical experts at the OSL in advance was clear during all phases of the successful testing. We were also extremely impressed with the Seneca Lake NUWC support provided throughout the test schedule.”
HII’s REMUS 620 launching under the watchful eye of Adrian Gonsalves, the REMUS 620 Product Lead as it departs for torpedo tube recovery testing in Seneca Lake (Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport)