REMUS 600 UUV Deployment a Consideration for SEA1000
The USS North Dakota deployed and retrieved a REMUS 600 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) from its dry deck shelter during a six-week mission before the new submarine completed its post shakedown availability. Only three other submarines, all in the Virginia class, have deployed and retrieved underwater vehicles.
“The timing with USS North Dakota’s schedule and its highly trained and certified crew made it the optimal choice to conduct this mission,” said Captain Jim Waters, commander of Submarine Squadron 4. “The mission completed by North Dakota also demonstrated the promising and emerging technology of UUVs within the submarine force.”
BlueZone Group’s Chief Technology Officer, Darren Burrowes, said that the demonstration showed that UUVs provided submarines with additional options for mission execution. “The submarine can remain in a covert location while the UUV can be tasked for more hazardous missions and then recovered on completion for retrieval of data”, said Darren. Integration of a UUV capability into the submarine to be delivered by the SEA1000 program should certainly consider the submarine design.