The US Navy is progressing its underwater warfare capabilities with a new solution that enables submarines to launch and recover autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs while remaining submerged.
Under an Other Transaction Authority agreement, the US Defense Innovation Unit has awarded L3Harris Technologies a contract to deliver its Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery (TTLR) system.
This system allows submarines to deploy and retrieve Iver4 900 AUVs securely, supporting a range of missions including intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance, mine detection, and seabed operations.
TTLR Capability
The TTLR is built as a modular platform, allowing integration with various submarine classes, including those operated by allied forces.
It utilizes lithium-ion battery technology to extend mission endurance—representing the first time such batteries have been approved for US Navy submarine and aviation use—and includes a hot-swap feature to maintain uninterrupted operations.
The system aligns with the Navy’s push toward integrating manned and unmanned systems in coordinated operations.
It also supports the AUKUS partnership’s second pillar, aimed at advancing cutting-edge defense technologies across Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Iver4 900 Platform
The Iver4 900 AUV is a compact system roughly 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) long, with a 9-inch (23-centimeter) carbon fiber hull and a weight of less than 230 pounds (104 kilograms).
It can operate at depths reaching 300 meters (984 feet) and offers an operational range of over 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers/46 miles) with NiMH batteries, extending beyond 80 nautical miles (148 kilometers/92 miles) when powered by lithium-ion batteries, depending on mission conditions.
The UK employs a comparable system, the Iver4 580, for tasks such as unmanned mine countermeasures and hydrographic surveys.
