L3Harris Technologies has secured a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit to furnish a solution allowing submarines to deploy and retrieve autonomous underwater vehicles through their torpedo tubes, the company announced.
The Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery (TTLR) system is devised to enable submarines to operate uncrewed underwater vehicles without surfacing, thereby facilitating missions such as intelligence collection, mine identification, and seafloor operations. L3Harris indicated that U.S. and allied naval forces have corroborated the system’s suitability for these functions.
“The Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery system is not a prospective capability; it addresses military commanders’ present requirements,”commented Nino DiCosmo, President of Maritime, Space & Mission Systems at L3Harris. He added,“Our system is pioneering in the successful deployment and retrieval of AUVs from a submarine, offering commanders versatility for sustained subsurface activities and preserving vital covertness.”
This system is engineered to launch the firm’s Iver4 900 autonomous underwater vehicles, boasting a modular design intended for compatibility across numerous submarine classes. Furthermore, it integrates lithium-ion battery technology to facilitate extended operational periods, complemented by a hot-swap capability to enable continuous activity, the company disclosed.
L3Harris affirmed that this methodology enables current submarine fleets to augment their functional scope without necessitating novel hull fabrication, simultaneously furthering human-robot collaborative strategies. The corporation additionally noted that the system is consistent with wider cooperative endeavors within frameworks like AUKUS Pillar 2.