The Navy recently awarded HII [HII] a Lionfish small unmanned undersea vehicle (SUUV) contract potentially worth up to $347 million over five years.
Naval Sea Systems Command announced on Oct. 2 that the contract was awarded on Sept. 28.
HII said the contract covers building nine Lionfish SUUVs but with options to increase up to 200 vehicles over five years, with a maximum value of over $347 million.
The Navy said if all options are exercised, the work will last through Sept. 2028.
Last year, the Navy revealed it picked HII to produce the Lionfish in a presolicitation notice. At the time, the Navy said it would ultimately include multiple production lots (Defense Daily, March 21, 2022).
The Navy intends to use the Lionfish to replace the current Mk 18 Mod 1 Swordfish UUV used in mine countermeasures and ocean survey missions. The Swordfish is based on the HII Remus 100 vehicle while Lionfish is based on the Remus 300.
In 2021, Capt. Dan Malatesta, former program manager for expeditionary missions in the Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants, said the Swordfish had maxed out its capability for computer power and the Navy planned to procure upwards of 24 Lionfish vehicles starting before 2024.
Last year, HII said the Navy picking the Remus 300 for Lionfish allowed it to expand international sales. During an earnings call last year, HII President and CEO Chris Kastner said historically about 30 percent of the company’s unmanned sales have been international, with a NATO member focus (Defense Daily, May 6, 2022).
The Remus 300 is a two-person portable SUUV that can range from 100 to 150 pounds, 75 to 99 inches long and with a 29 to 89 nautical mile maximum range. The company underscored it has an open architecture design with “versatile payload options.”
“Lionfish provides increased capability and interoperability that aligns with the Navy’s undersea priorities, and we look forward to delivering next-generation vehicles that can readily adapt to and support a variety of mission needs,” Andy Green, executive vice president of HII and president of the Mission Technologies business unit, said in a statement.