UUV system from Aquabotix purchased by U.S. Navy for possible in-theater use
NewsMay 24, 2019
FALL RIVER, Mass. and SYDNEY, Australia. Underwater robotics company Aquabotix has won a contract from the U.S. Army worth an estimated $150,000 for the purchase of its SwarmDiver unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) system along with training and test support; the sale, say company officials, will enable necessary government evaluation activities for the military?s consideration of operational use of the product in theatre.
The SwarmDiver UUVs are about 30 inches long, weigh nearly four pounds, and are self-propelled, with a top speed of almost 5 mph. A single operator can control a swarm of as many as 100 miniature UUVs at once.
Whitney Million, CEO of Aquabotix, said of the award: "While contract values for providing this type of hardware and services support for evaluation activities are generally small, they represent meaningful and necessary steps to progress commercially developed product to a state of full operational use. These facts leave us anticipating potential future, more sizeable orders from both United States and other navies.”
