Bluefin Robotics awarded $30m HULS production option
Bluefin Robotics, a leader in the design and manufacturing of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), is being awarded a $30 million contract modification to exercise option III for the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Hull Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Localization Systems (HULS) production systems. The HULS production systems support Naval Forces in conducting hull, piers and pilings searches. The contract was structured in three phases or options: demonstration, prototype, and production of the HULS systems. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
The program objective: deliver a small and relatively low-cost autonomous vehicle capable of precision maneuvering, with a focus on ship hull inspection. The requirement to inspect ships' hulls has long been one of the most manpower intensive and time consuming tasks that divers must routinely perform, for both security and husbandry purposes. With increasing demands on the Navy's Explosive Ordnance Disposal qualified diving community, the mission of hull searches has emerged as an ideal application for unmanned systems.
Initially, Bluefin and Massachusetts Institute of Technology were selected to jointly develop the Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle under the Office of Naval Research. The Bluefin Hovering AUV, which is the basis for the EOD HULS program, offers additional applications for both commercial and military hull and infrastructure maintenance and survey.
Source: Bluefin Robotics
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
![Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)]()
Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
-
![SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale]()
SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions]()
SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America]()
SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
-
![Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military]()
Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.
-
![Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures]()
Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
