Royal New Zealand Navy orders four REMUS 300 UUVs

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced on 21 June that it has received an order for four REMUS 300 unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) from the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), marking the first international sale of the UUV.

The UUVs are being primarily acquired for use in underwater mine countermeasure and survey operations.

The US-based company said in a statement that in addition to the four REMUS 300s – delivery of which is expected by mid-2022 – New Zealand ordered high-definition camera modules and additional swappable battery modules. The sale was facilitated by New Zealand Ocean Technology: HII's REMUS sales and in-country support partner.

No details were provided about the value of the contract.

The RNZN currently operates a fleet of six REMUS 100 UUVs that are used for mine countermeasures and underwater survey operations. The service has also used its REMUS vehicles for search and recovery, including locating the wreck of the Princess Ashika ferry in 2009 and assisting with the White Island volcano search effort in 2019.

“The flexibility and modularity of the REMUS 300 will allow us to tailor the vehicles to specific missions, further augmenting our capabilities,” Captain Garin Golding from the RNZN was quoted by HII as saying.

As Janes reported, the REMUS 300, which is also being procured by the US Navy, is a two-manportable vehicle with a 0.19 m diameter, an overall length of 1.85–2.51 m, and a dry weight of about 36–58 kg depending on its configuration. It maintains a comparable diameter with the smaller REMUS 100 but offers an increased depth rating of 305 m.