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Royal Navy works with United States and Australians for underwater warfare trials

The Royal Navy joined Australian and United States personnel in testing autonomous underwater equipment. Picture: Petty Officer 1st Class Justin Yarborough/US Navy
17 January 2025
The Royal Navy’s experts in finding, identifying and removing underwater threats have trialled current and future technologies during a series of tests off the Virginia coast. 

Sailors from the navy’s Diving and Threat Exploitation Group and Mine and Threat Exploitation Group took part in the exercise off Virginia Beach, near the world’s largest naval base in Norfolk, USA, as part of the AUKUS defence partnership.  

Personnel from Australia, the UK and the US came together under AUKUS Pillar 2, which develops advanced capabilities to benefit both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security. During this exercise, the partnership focused on enhancing the nations’ sub-sea and seabed warfare capabilities. 

They chartered Island Pride, a commercial boat from robotics company Ocean Infinity, and took advantage of its extensive hangar and commercially-available HUGIN Superior autonomous underwater vehicles which gather data using a range of sensors. 

The exercise challenged the three navies to use both current and prototype technology to find, monitor and remove seabed threats at varying depths.

Mission scenarios included monitoring and defending underwater infrastructure such as gas pipelines and communication cables; salvaging lost equipment; and disarming or destroying mines and explosive objects. 

Once the HUGIN Superior autonomous underwater vehicle had sent back its surveying data, the teams could then use their Video Ray Defender remotely-operated vehicle to identify or deal with the objects at depth.  

 
This exercise, working alongside our AUKUS and industrial partners, has further demonstrated the value of our joint endeavours in the underwater domain.  

Commodore Marcus Rose, Deputy Director Underwater Battlespace Capability

The trials were a success and allowed a greater understanding of how data can be shared and interpreted by the three nations and how AUKUS partners can work together to protect their critical underwater infrastructure. 

Findings and lessons learned from the trials will help shape sub-sea and seabed warfare tests on Australian-based Exercise Talisman Sabre 25. 

Commodore Marcus Rose, Deputy Director Underwater Battlespace Capability, said: “This exercise, working alongside our AUKUS and industrial partners, has further demonstrated the value of our joint endeavours in the underwater domain.  

“The exercise facilitated close collaboration in the use of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), with the aim of developing interchangeable seabed warfare capabilities at pace.”

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