REMUS (AUV)

The REMUS (Remote Environmental Monitoring UnitS) series are autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) made by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and designed by their Oceanographic Systems Lab (OSL). More recently REMUS vehicles have been manufactured by the spinoff company Hydroid Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime. [1] The series are designed to be low cost, they have shared control software and electronic subsystems and can be operated from a laptop computer.[2] They are used by civilians for seafloor mapping, underwater surveying, and search and recovery as well as by several navies for mine countermeasures missions.

REMUS 100 used by Finnish Navy
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) REMUS 100 with autonomous docking station (2007)

Models

There are four variants of the REMUS, all are torpedo-shaped vessels with reconfigurable sensors.

REMUS 6000

The largest model is the REMUS 6000 at 3.84 metres (12.6 ft) long and 71 centimetres (28 in) in diameter; it is named after its maximum diving depth of 6000m.[3] It can travel at speeds of up to 5 knots (9.3 km/h) and has an endurance of up to 22 hours.[3] It was developed through cooperation between the Naval Oceanographic Office, the Office of Naval Research, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).[4]

US Navy sailors lower a REMUS 600 into the water during a mine countermeasures exercise in Panama City, Florida

In 2018 the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) received an order of New Generation REMUS 6000 AUVs. The New Generation REMUS 6000 is based on the legacy REMUS 6000 platform with "a modular architecture that allows for the addition of multiple payloads including customer sensor packages, forward fins and additional battery sections.”[5] Hydroid also claims that the New Generation model has increased endurance.

REMUS 600

The midsized REMUS 600 was previously known as the REMUS 12.75, so called due to its 12.75-inch (32.4 cm) diameter. It was renamed to the 600 to correspond to the maximum depth at which it can operate (600m).[6] The US Navy derivative of this platform is designated Mk 18 Mod 2 “Kingfish." [7] The Mk 18 Mod 2 is equipped with side-scan sonar, a downward-looking video camera, ADCP, GPS, beam attenuation meter (BAM) to measure turbidity, and a conductivity temperature depth (CTD) sensor.[8] It can travel at speeds of up to 5 knots (9.3 km/h) and has an endurance of up to 70 hours at its standard cruising speed of 3 knots (5.6 km/h).[6]

REMUS 100
REMUS 100 of the Finnish Navy

The REMUS 100 takes its name from its max operating depth of 100 meters.[1] The US Navy operates a derivative of the REMUS 100, in addition to the standard REMUS 100, designated Mk 18 Mod 1 “Swordfish”.[9] It can travel at speeds of up to 5 knots (9.3 km/h) and has an endurance of up to 22 hours at its standard cruising speed of 3 knots (5.6 km/h).[9]

REMUS M3V

The REMUS M3V (Micro 300 Meter Rated Vehicle) is the smallest in the range and is designed to fit the A-type sonobouy design envelope (91.5 x 12.4 cm). The M3V can travel at 10 knots and dive to 300 meters, apparently uniquely among the REMUS family the M3V can be airdropped.[10]

Operational history

REMUS units were used successfully in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom to detect mines,[11] and in 2011 during the fourth search for the missing aircraft "black boxes" from the crashed Air France flight AF447,[12] which they successfully found.[13] Three REMUS 6000 units were used in the AF447 search.[14] In a video posted by Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, a REMUS 6000 is seen being used by the Colombian Navy to examine the shipwreck, now patrimony, of galleon San José that sunk in 1708 off the coast of Cartagena de Indias.[15]

US Navy sailors launch a REMUS 600 (designated Mk 18 Mod 2 in Navy service) in the Persian Gulf

In 2012, the mine detection-variant of the REMUS 600 was deployed by the US Navy to the 5th Fleet, operating primarily in the Persian Gulf.[16] REMUS vehicles in Navy service are generally deployed from 11-metre (36 ft) rigid hull inflatable boats, which can carry two vehicles,[8] although they have been deployed from littoral combat ship USS Freedom[17] and from an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter in exercises.[18] In 2018, a US Navy REMUS 600 named “Smokey” was captured by Houthi combat divers off the coast of Yemen; the Houthi forces published a video of the captured vehicle.[19]

The University of Hawaii at Manoa operates a REMUS 100 equipped to measure salinity, temperature, currents, bathymetry and water quality parameters. These measurements help support research conducted by the university's nearshore/offshore sensor network and water sampling programs.[20]

In 2017 a REMUS 6000 operated from the billionaire Paul Allen’s research vessel R/V Petrel helped discover the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) at 5,500m in the Philippine Sea.[21] In 2018 a REMUS 6000 operated from R/V Petrel discovered the wreck of the USS Lexington (CV-2) in the Western Pacific, the USS Lexington was sunk in 1942 during the Battle of the Coral Sea.[22]

In 2019 researchers at the University of Exeter used a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution owned REMUS 100 based SharkCam off the coast of Coll and Tiree to study basking sharks.[23][24]

Operators

 United States

 United Kingdom

 Croatia

 Finland

 Netherlands

 Canada

 Japan

 Ireland

  • Irish naval service[33]

References
  1. "Marine Robots (AUVs) | Hydroid, Inc". www.hydroid.com. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  2. "REMUS". Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  3. "REMUS 6000". Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  4. "AUV System Spec Sheet". auvac.org. Autonomous Undersea Vehicle Application Center. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  5. Inc, Hydroid. "Hydroid Receives Order for New Generation REMUS 6000 AUV from Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science Technology (JAMSTEC)". prnewswire.com. prnewswire.com. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  6. "REMUS in Photos". Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  7. "Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish configuration". AUVAC.com. AUVAC. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  8. William W Sprigg (September 12, 2018). Enviromental Services for Unmanned Maritime Systems (Report). SPAWAR Contracts Directorate Office. N66001-18-T-2006. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  9. "Swordfish Mk 18 Mod 1 configuration". auvac.com. auvac. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  10. Leoni, Victoria (2018-04-11). "New undersea drones are smaller, cheaper and can be refueled deep under water". defensenews.com. Defense News. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  11. Richard Scott (14 February 2008). "Clearing the way: UUVs evolve to meet front-line MCM requirements". IHS Jane's: Defense & Security Intelligence & Analysis. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  12. Wil S. Hylton (4 May 2011). "What Happened to Air France Flight 447?". The New York Times. The ship carried three Remus 6000 submarines, some of the most advanced underwater search vehicles on earth, which swept the seafloor in 20-hour runs.
  13. Cindy E. Rodriguez (4 April 2011). "Robots Find Many of the Missing Bodies Amid Wreckage of Air France Flight 447". abc.com. p. 1. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  14. Jeff Wise (18 April 2011). "How Air France 447's Missing Wreckage Was Found—and Why It Took So Long". Popular Mechanics.
  15. "Hallazgo del Galeón San José – 5 de diciembre de 2015". Presidency of Colombia. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  16. "MK18 Kingfish UUV Deployed to 5th Fleet" (Press release). Panama City, FL: Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division Public Affairs. NNS. June 25, 2013. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  17. DON Innovation (July 2017). "The Expeditionary MCM (ExMCM) Company: The Newest Capability in U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Community" (Press release). Department of the Navy. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  18. "US Navy deploys mine countermeasure UUV from helicopter". Naval Today. March 6, 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  19. Werner, Ben (2018-01-03). "VIDEO: Houthi Forces Capture U.S. Navy Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Off Yemen". news.usni.org. US Naval Institute. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  20. "Remus AUV". soest.hawaii.edu. University of Hawaii Marine Operations. 2013-02-14. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  21. Editors, The. "Wreckage From USS Indianapolis Located In Philippine Sea". paulallen.com. Paul Allen. Retrieved 13 November 2018.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  22. Gallagher, Sean. "World War II carrier "Lady Lex" found 2 miles under sea by Allen expedition". arstechnica.com. Ars Technika. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  23. Howard, Michelle. "SharkCam Reveals Secrets of UK Basking Sharks". www.marinetechnologynews.com. Marine Technology News. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  24. "Robot cameras reveal secret lives of basking sharks". phys.org. Phys.org. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  25. "Hydroid Delivers First High Resolution Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar". kongsberg.com. kongsberg. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  26. "Remus AUV". soest.hawaii.edu. University of Hawaii at Manoa. 2013-02-14. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  27. "Royal Navy Demonstrates REMUS 600 UUV At 'Unmanned Warrior 16'". defenseworld.net. Defense World. October 15, 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  28. Pintarić, Vesna. "The Remus 100 Underwater Vehicles upgrading the Navy's countermine capabilities". hrvatski-vojnik.hr. hrvatski-vojnik. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  29. "Hunt when you can". Kongsberg.com. Kongsberg. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  30. "RNLN Integrates SeeByte's Neptune into its AUVs". marinetechnologynews.com. Marine Technology News. 2018-09-28. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  31. "New REMUS 100 for the Royal Canadian Navy". lookoutnewspaper.com. Lookout Newspaper. 2018-10-18. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  32. "Hydroid Bags AUV Order from Japan". marinetechnologynews.com. Marine Technology News. 2018-11-19. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  33. "Irish navy training with Remus 100 AUV". Irish naval service facebook page. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
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