January 16, 2020 |
International,
Naval
By: Chiara Vercellone
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit has selected L3Harris Technologies to provide the Navy with an underwater drone for use in expeditionary undersea missions, according to a Jan. 14 news release from the company.
As part of the contract, L3Harris will deliver for testing an Iver4-900 PW unmanned undersea vehicle, as well as two field swappable modular payload sections, which, along with additional sensors, will allow the vehicle to detect, classify, localize and identify targets on the ocean floor, the release said.
An earlier version of the drone was already sent to the Navy, but under this contract, the company will deliver a version modified to fit the Navy's requirements, a company spokeswoman told Defense News. She would not share the value of the contract.
“The Iver4 is leading the next generation of small class UUVs,” said Daryl Slocum, vice president of unmanned maritime systems at L3Harris Technologies. “This platform has been custom-built to address the needs of the Expeditionary Mine Countermeasures and Explosive Ordnance Disposal communities.”
The contract award comes as the Navy seeks to bolster its unmanned inventory. Congress recently approved the purchase of two large unmanned surface vessels for the service.
In 2019, L3Harris received a contract from the University of Southern Mississippi for an older version of the underwater drone to be used by the university's school of ocean science and engineering.
https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2020/01/15/l3harris-to-deliver-iver4-underwater-drone-to-us-navy
