POCASSET, Mass., 8 March 2013. Unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) designers at Hydroid Inc. in Pocasset, Mass., have begin full-rate production of the Navy Littoral Battlespace Sensing (LBS) UUV for U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in San Diego.

SPAWAR has ordered the immediate production of three LBS UUVs, which are based on the Hydroid REMUS 600 UUV, and one Shipset consisting of a launch and recovery system (LARS), a LARS flat rack, a mission van, a maintenance van, and vehicle support equipment. REMUS is short for Remote Environmental Measuring Units.

Navy experts conducted more than a year of extensive testing and evaluation before ordering full-rate production of the LBS UUV, which will have underwater sensors to collect oceanographic and weather data, as well as data processing and dissemination.

The LBS UUVs will be part of a system of networked sensors that share data on Navy networks to help commanders make decisions.

The ultimate end user of these UUVs is the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) at the John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss., which acquires and analyzes open oceans, coastal waters, and harbors.

The REMUS 600 is about 16 feet long depending on its sensor payload configuration, weighs 530 pounds, and is slightly wider than one foot in diameter. It has a 5.2-kilowatt-hour rechargeable lithium ion battery that enables the UUV to operate for as long as 70 hours on a charge. It has a DC brushless motor and two-bladed propeller, and can travel at speeds of about 5 knots to depths of 1,970 feet.

Hydroid's REMUS UUVs are modular and can accommodate different types of sensors. They have been used to aid in hydrographic surveys, harbor security operations, debris field mapping, scientific sampling and mapping, as well as many basic and applied research programs.

Those funding REMUS UUV projects include the U.S. Office of Naval Research in Arlington, Va.; the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence in London.

Hydroid is a subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime AS in Kongsberg, Norway. For more information contact Hydroid online at www.km.kongsberg.com/hydroid, or SPAWAR at www.spawar.navy.mil.