C2 Robotics has commissioned and formally christened its first Speartooth large uncrewed undersea vehicle (LUUV) for delivery to the United States, marking the company’s entry into operational service for the platform and its expansion into the export market. The ceremony represents a transition point for the Speartooth programme from development into fielded capability. In a departure from traditional naval practice, the christening was conducted using a robotic arm under a “human-on-the-loop” control concept, reflecting the system’s operational philosophy. The christening ceremony was officiated by Guest of Honour and Sponsor’s representative – Captain Josh Fagan – the US Naval Attache based in Canberra. Representing the Director General of Maritime Integrated Capabilities (who oversees the RAN’s autonomous systems program) was Captain Tony Miskelly RAN. C2 Robotics team members and suppliers were also in attendance.
“This is a proud and important step for our company. We don’t typically conduct christening ceremonies for all of our boats, but this moment reflects the maturity of the Speartooth program and the strength of our partnership with the United States. The LUUV program is incredibly fast paced with payload options and mission roles continuously expanding,” said Troy Duggan, CEO of C2 Robotics said.
The Speartooth LUUV is designed as a scalable and lower-cost autonomous undersea platform capable of supporting intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), and strike missions. Its reduced size and unit cost compared with traditional crewed submarines are intended to enable deployment in contested environments and support distributed force structures. A modular design, minimal infrastructure and low cost enables fast integration, flexible mission tailoring and rapid deployment — delivering operational capability at an unprecedented pace and scale. Speartooth is designed to generate force-mass in the maritime domain as affordably as possible. Its purpose is to deliver military payloads over strategically relevant ranges at scale and with a high degree of stealth, reliability and autonomy. Speartooth has also been designed to be payload agnostic so that it can rapidly integrate whatever capabilities its operators require.
C2 Robotics indicated that further export activity is expected, including a planned announcement involving its European partner, Eurobotics GmbH. The company also highlighted its broader portfolio of autonomous systems, including counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) developed from commercial off-the-shelf drone technologies. These systems have been demonstrated at Australian Defence Force (ADF) evaluation events, achieving high interception rates against representative aerial threats. In addition, C2 Robotics produces the PackMule uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) for domestic and international customers. Based in Melbourne, C2 Robotics specialises in robotics, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence, with development activities spanning maritime, land, and air domains. The company emphasises rapid prototyping and iterative fielding, supported by a team with experience across the defence and aerospace sectors.
