Speartooth LUUV uses Thales Australia’s ‘sense and avoid’ system

The Melbourne-based C2 Robotics Speartooth Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (LUUV) will use a Thales Australia Blue Seeker sense and avoid system as part of its navigation suite, according to Thales Australia. The system uses a multi-frequency sensor that can classify noise sources, Thales says.

Otherwise, the Speartooth remains highly classified. Its basic dimensions are well enough known: it is 1m in diameter, can be 8 to 12m long, depending on the number of payload bays it uses, has a nose cone that contains all of its navigation, sense and avoid and communications equipment and a tail cone that contains its lithium-ion battery and propulsor. It also has a digital twin to facilitate rapid integration of new capabilities, training and testing.

Speartooth employs a ‘set and forget’ operational mode with pre-programmed check-in and re-tasking and a single operator can monitor more than 50 Speartooth LUUVs at any one time. It has a wet, or flooded, hull so doesn’t need to be pressure or water-tight for the most part; and it uses Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components where possible to reduce costs and to ensure a rapid upgrade path.

The system has been trialled extensively by the RAN and is described as ‘complementary’ to the much larger Anduril Ghost Shark. Most importantly, it is ITAR-free. Speartooth was demonstrated during this year’s EX Talisman Sabre 2025 and was scheduled to participate in the AUKUS Maritime Big Play exercise in Jervis Bay, NSW, later this year