Australian firm C2 Robotics has commissioned its Speartooth large uncrewed undersea vehicle (LUUV), the first to be exported to the US Navy.
A ceremony was held in which a robotic arm broke a bottle of champagne across the bow to christen the LUUV, with a human-in-the-loop, reflecting the undersea drone’s future utilization.
While “the company does not typically conduct christening ceremonies for all of our boats,” CEO Troy Duggan said, the ceremony marked the Speartooth’s transition from development into operational service and the company’s strengthened partnership with Washington.
“This partnership demonstrates a shared commitment to advancing allied autonomous undersea capability,” Duggan said. “Speartooth is built on the principle of ‘Small, Smart, Many’—and today’s event brings that concept one step closer to operational reality.”
The company is also expanding in Europe through its partner Eurobotics GmbH, with details to be released soon.
Speartooth LUUV
Designed to be modular, scalable, and cost-effective, the Speartooth large undersea drone is built to carry out intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike missions.
The LUUV has dual payload-agnostic bays with an open-architecture design, allowing different sensors or payloads to be integrated for various mission requirements.
With a base length of 26 feet (8 meters), the 3.3-foot (1-meter)-wide LUUV can extend up to 40 feet (12 meters), depending on payload.
Powered by lithium-ion batteries, the Speartooth can quietly operate at ranges of up to 1,080 nautical miles (1,245 miles/2,000 kilometers) and dive to depths of around 6,561 feet (2,000 meters).
The drone features collision-avoidance sensors, an inertial navigation system, a communications sail, and customizable hatches to support navigation, connectivity, and mission-specific configurations.
