AMC and HII Report near-perfect availability for REMUS 100

The Launceston-based Australian Maritime College (AMC), part of the University of Tasmania, and HII have announced a major reliability milestone for AMC’s REMUS 100 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).

Over seven years, the AMC REMUS 100 completed 935 operational deployments with only two days of downtime caused by material issues. During this period the AUV supported the training of more than 400 Royal Australian Navy AUV operators, said AMC and HII in a media release. The milestone comes as HII celebrates 25 years of REMUS operations worldwide.

Despite frequent use in challenging environments, the system maintained operational availability above 99.9%, which is a standout result for autonomous maritime technology, they say.

This performance record reinforces the REMUS 100’s reputation as one of the most dependable autonomous underwater systems operating today, adds HII. To date, more than 750 REMUS AUVs have been delivered to customers in over 30 countries, with more than 90% still in active service.

The legacy REMUS 100 is a versatile, reliable, and easy-to-maintain system that played an important role in oceanographic research, environmental monitoring, and defence operations around the world.

Since its arrival at the AMC the REMUS 100 has been maintained in-house by staff at the AMC’s Autonomous Maritime Systems Laboratory in Northern Tasmania, with remote support provided directly from HII technical staff in the US.

“This reliability record is an outstanding testament to both the REMUS 100’s robust engineering and technical expertise of the AMC team who maintain and operate the vehicle,” said Chris White, AMC’s manager of Defence & Autonomous Systems. “To sustain such high performance across hundreds of missions and diverse marine conditions is a reflection of both the system’s design integrity and the autonomous system technical skills resident at the AMC.”

“The REMUS 100’s reliability has enabled the AMC to plan and execute complex missions with full confidence in the system,” said Duane Fotheringham, president of HII’s Unmanned Systems. “This level of dependability has a direct impact on mission success, data quality and training outcomes “Its performance record reinforces HII’s commitment to delivering innovative, reliable, and upgradeable mission-ready autonomous underwater systems that set industry standards for performance and durability.”