U.S. Navy Witnesses First Ever Submerged Payload Launch From An Autonomous Undersea VehicleImage Credits: RaytheonRaytheon and Composite Energy Technologies (CET) recently demonstrated a submerged payload launch for the HADALUS unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) during a U.S. Navy exercise at an undersea test range. This was the first time that the U.S Navy witnessed a payload launch from a vehicle entirely underwater, solving a major issue in long-endurance autonomous operations. The 34-foot-long platform, with a 6-foot cross-section, is built for long-range missions with an operational endurance exceeding 2,000 nautical miles. The undersea vehicle had to achieve perfect stability and also deploy the payloads without depending on surface support ships or exposing its position underwater to prevent being detected. According to the sources, the team arranged the trial in 18 months, after moving from concept design to complete integration.