Vector Hawk UAS launched from AUV
Lockheed Martin’s Vector Hawk UAS has been launched by an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) during a US Navy exercise, the company announced on 28 September.
During the Annual Navy Technology Exercise, Vector Hawk was launched by the Marlin MK2 AUV in a mission supported by the Submaran unmanned surface vehicle (USV).
The Submaran USV relayed instructions to Marlin from a ground control station via underwater acoustic communications. Marlin then launched the Vector Hawk using a specially-designed canister. Vector Hawk successfully assumed a mission flight track, and all three autonomous vehicles communicated operational status to the ground control station to maintain situational awareness and provide a means to command and control all assets.
Vector Hawk is designed for canister or hand-launch in all-weather, maritime environments to provide an organic, tailored intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability. The 4lb UAS is capable of fully autonomous flight and landing, and can fly for 70-plus minutes, at line-of-sight ranges up to 15km.
Kevin Schlosser, chief architect, unmanned systems technology, Lockheed Martin, said: ‘This effort marks a milestone in showing that an unmanned aircraft, surface vessel and undersea vehicle can communicate and complete a mission cooperatively and completely autonomously.
‘This signifies the versatility of Lockheed Martin’s unmanned systems to communicate seamlessly across domains to conduct a diverse set of missions in all environments. The capability is quickly reconfigured in the field. In a short time, we enabled these systems to work together by rapidly changing sensor packages.’
Marlin MK2 is a battery powered 10ft long USV with a 250lb payload capacity. It has 18-24 hour endurance, depth rating of 1000ft and weighs approximately 2,000lbs.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
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.
