US Navy to Deploy Underwater Drones by the End of 2015

By Franz-Stefan Gady

April 15, 2015

http://thediplomat.com/2015/04/us-navy-to-deploy-underwater-drones-by-the-end-of-2015/

Will this be a game changer for undersea warfare? 

The U.S. Navy will for the first time deploy Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) from Virginia-class attack submarines by the end of this year reportsmilitary.com.

According to the U.S. Navy’s director for undersea warfare, Rear Admiral Joseph Tofalo, the soon-to-be deployed underwater drones will be commercially available UUVs such as the REMUS 600 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle.

Designed through funding from the Office of Naval Research, the REMUS 600 is modeled after the REMUS 100 UUV, built by the Norwegian-based Kongsberg Maritime defense contractor, and can be deployed for a wide range of missions including mine counter measure, harbor security, and search and salvage operations.