Royal Navy Buys Remus Underwater Drone Fleet From HII

The UK Royal Navy has signed an agreement to procure a fleet of Remus unmanned underwater vehicles from American defense contractor HII.

The service will purchase three Remuses in their 100-meter depth (328-foot) variant and five in the 300-meter (984-foot) variant.

While both have a maximum speed of 5 knots (9 kilometers/6 miles per hour), the Remus 300 model has a modular design to support users in both expeditionary and long-endurance operations.

HII wrote that the deal supports the British Ministry of Defence’s ongoing efforts to modernize its naval capabilities concerning countermeasures, underwater exploration, and surveillance missions.

The UK first partnered with HII in 2001 to obtain two Remus 100s, both of which are still in service.

“We are honored to support the Royal Navy in their mission to maintain maritime security,” HII Mission Technologies Unmanned Systems President Duane Fotheringham stated.

“The trust placed in our REMUS vehicles by the United Kingdom and other allies is a testament to the quality and reliability of our technology. We look forward to further strengthening our partnerships and contributing to global maritime safety.”

Latest Remus Projects

HII signed a contract in March to deliver a Remus 620 to an Indo-Pacific customer.

In October 2023, the company received another deal to supply up to 200 submarine drones for the US Navy.

This order supports the Pentagon’s Lionfish System program to integrate next-generation autonomous sub-surface platforms based on the Remus 300 for naval missions.

In 2022, London selected HII to provide three Remus 100 vehicles to the Royal Navy.

The same year, the firm completed the delivery of four Remus 300s with mine countermeasures and survey capabilities for New Zealand as part of an agreement signed in 2021.