Dive AUV
Drone Wars are coming for the Submariners too.
Naval News reports:
“Anduril To Open Large Scale Production Facility For AUV (Autonomous Undewater Vehicles), 17 Jun 2024
The Rhode Island production facility will enable Anduril to (immediately) increase production to 200 AUVs per year, and create more than 100 jobs over the next five years. The factory announcement comes amid growing demand for Anduril’s AUVs, including an $18.6 million contract with the U.S. Navy.
Anduril press release
Anduril Industries is announcing a new manufacturing facility to support large-scale production of its Dive-LD family of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. By investing in a scaled production facility ahead of need, Anduril will be able to stay ahead of customer demand and deliver on orders with unprecedented speed.
AUVs are transforming maritime deterrence by providing an affordable, distributed, and adaptable undersea capability that complements the U.S. and allied submarine fleet...
...“Affordable, distributed mass is a central tenet of undersea deterrence and we look forward to supporting large-scale, cost-effective AUV deployments with our new facility,” said Shane Arnott, Senior Vice President at Anduril Industries. “Our Maritime Division continues to develop advanced undersea capabilities and, with large contract awards both in the United States and Australia, we are committed to the mass manufacturing of those proven capabilities at speed and at scales that matter.”
Anduril AUVs are designed from the ground-up for production at scale, with a heavy emphasis on commercial-off-the-shelf components with robust supply chains, a modular design, and advanced, scalable manufacturing techniques that enable rapid iterations based on customer needs. The facility is strategically located in close proximity to Anduril’s maritime engineering center in Quincy, Massachusetts, ensuring that products can be rapidly updated based on customer feedback, even in the midst of full-rate production. The production facility will be able to accommodate the complete lifecycle of the hull — from R&D through sustainment — with dedicated onsite testing facilities, service bays, and more. This manufacturing facility will enable Anduril to produce AUVs at scale and create a paradigm shift in maritime deterrence that places a greater emphasis on unmanned and autonomous systems.
The factory announcement comes amid growing demand from defense and commercial customers. The U.S. Navy, for example, recently awarded Anduril an $18.6 million contract to cover an initial buy of Dive AUVs through the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (LDUUV) prototyping effort, following a “swim-off” competition late last year.
“Over the last 6 months, the U.S. Navy, in partnership with DIU and Congress, has driven an aggressive program timeline to put vendors on contract, acquire capabilities, and rapidly demonstrate those capabilities with warfighters,” said Nick Stoner, Director at Anduril Industries. “This contract is a fantastic example of how the U.S. Navy can incentivize industry to make capital investments and produce the kinds of undersea asymmetric advantages our Fleet Commanders need, on the timelines they need them.”
Driven by Anduril’s investment in long-range, autonomous undersea capabilities, the Dive family of AUVs has emerged as the leading solution for a variety of missions, including operational preparation of the environment, surveillance and reconnaissance, mine warfare, subsea and seabed warfare, seafloor mapping, and more. Now, with a larger manufacturing facility under construction, Anduril will be able to rapidly scale production and accelerate delivery to customers.
This announcement comes as Anduril continues to advance critical, distributed maritime missions around the world through large and extra large autonomous subsurface capabilities. Earlier this year, Anduril unveiled the first prototype Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle, developed and delivered ahead of schedule and on-budget at its Sydney, Australia location in partnership with the Royal Australian Navy, the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator, and the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG).”