Hydroid was awarded a $ $39,414,560 million contract previously-awarded firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00174-19-D-0010) for production support of the MK 18 family of unmanned submersibles for the U.S. Navy. Work will be performed at Hydroid’s plant in Pocasset, Mass., with an expected completion date by April 2020 and with options through April 24. No contract funds were obligated on the contract at time of award. Hydroid was selected because it was the only responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.
Based on the REMUS 100, the Swordfish is designed to Search, Classify, and Map (SCM) the Very Shallow Water (VSW) Region (10â€40 ft). The Navy has a total of 24 Swordfish vehicles: EOD Mobile Unit 1 San Diego, CA : 4 Systems (12 Block A Vehicles), Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 (MDSUâ€2), Norfolk, VA: 1 System (3 Block A Vehicles), Naval Oceanographic and Mine Warfare Command (NOMWC), Stennis, MS: 3 Systems (9 Block B vehicles). The REMUS Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (AUV) was first developed in the late 1990s for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute by Hydroid. The man-portable class 36 kg REMUS 100 AUV is used by the U.S. Navy for shallow water mine countermeasures (MCM) and hydrographic reconaissance.
Resembling a conventional torpedo, MK18 Kingfish are launched from ships or mid-sized rigid-hull boats. It is nearly 4 meters long and weighs more than 600 pounds. At depths from 10 feet to 40 feet, the Kingfish submersible can perform low-visible exploration and reconnaissance in support of amphibious landing, mine countermeasures operations and identification. The Kingfish is a variant of the Hydroid REMUS 600, which was developed originally through funding from the Office of Naval Research. The REMUS 600, which is known as the Swordfish, can dive to depths of nearly 2,000 feet, operating on one battery charge for as long as 24 hours. The REMUS 600 UUV is nearly 13 feet long and 2 feet in diameter.
