Aquabotix SwarmDivers USVs purchased by US Navy.

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.

Aquabotix's SwarmDivers at NAVDEX 2019, UAE (Picture source: Navy Recognition)

Presented for the first time during Navdex 2019, these micro-sized, unmanned surface vessels (USVs) are capable of diving and swarming. Such vehicles are designed to support various missions and can be operated in shallow water.

These ultra-portable vehicles are deployable either from the shoreline, or from any platform (mobile or not). In addition to that, they can be launched and operated by a single person. No need of lots of personnel to launch, maneuver and recover the USVs. The inherent redundancy in the mission created by the system's swarm functionality makes SwarmDivers an ideal tool for hydrographic surveys, mine countermeasures, escape and evasion tactics, above and below water communications, harbor management/port security, as well as many reconnaissance missions.

A single SwarnDiver has a length of 0,75m and a weight of 1,7kg (without any extra payload). The system is capable to reach depths down to 50m with speeds going up to 4,3 knots (2,2 m/s). It has an autonomy that can go up to 2,5 hours and up to 100 vehicles can be operated at the same time as a swarm!

These USVs have 3 main missions which are the reconnaissance, the use as mine countermeasures and the creation of a security perimeter.

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