US Navy makes history with unmanned underwater vehicle

Unmanned aerial vehicles get a lot of attention, but unmanned underwater vehicles are making some waves of their own

For the first time ever, a manned submarine launched and recovered an unmanned underwater vehicle from its torpedo tube without the help of divers

It happened somewhere in European waters. The USS Delaware, a nuclear-powered, Virginia-class, fast-attack submarine, launched a yellow moray UUV

That's another name for the Remus 600, built by HII, which also built the Delaware

It's a big deal. Not only does it show the Navy's commitment to unmanned tech and how far it's come in

relatively short period of time, but the possibilities it opens for combatant commanders is immense

I first reported on the Remus a couple years ago now, so check out our archives if you want

some more background The vehicle is about 15 feet long it runs on battery power and can cruise around at about eight knots It built to be modular meaning you can swap out the guts of it depending on the mission

Surveillance, ocean mapping, anti-mining, the Remus can do a lot and go a lot of places

Waters once deemed too shallow or too deep for manned operations are now accessible thanks to

the Navy's integration of the Yellow Moray. In the history-making operation, the Delaware sent out

a single moray on three different sorties, each one lasting up to 10 hours, and all to complete

a tactical objective, which is of course classified. Vice Admiral Rob Goucher, the commander of the

Navy's submarine forces, says Yellow Morays are perfect for doing the dull, dirty, and dangerous

underwater missions. Adding the occasion with the Delaware is just the beginning

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