U.S. Navy Receives First Lionfish Uncrewed Undersea Vehicles

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has delivered the first two Lionfish small uncrewed undersea vehicles (SUUVs) to the U.S. Navy, marking the beginning of a potential full-scale program involving up to 200 units under a contract exceeding $347 million.

The Lionfish SUUVs are based on the REMUS 300 platform—HII’s modular and open-architecture uncrewed undersea vehicle (UUV) designed for adaptable mission roles. The program was developed in partnership with the U.S. Navy and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to accelerate the integration of commercial dual-use technologies into Department of Defense operations.

The U.S. Navy’s Lionfish initiative is the first to move from an “other transaction prototype” to full production, marking a milestone in the Navy’s acquisition process. The Lionfish SUUV is also the only cyber-compliant uncrewed underwater vehicle currently fielded.

Production is underway at HII’s uncrewed systems facility in Pocasset, Massachusetts. The REMUS-based design is aimed at supporting various undersea warfare needs, including mine countermeasures, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), electronic warfare, and anti-submarine warfare.

The system’s modularity allows for rapid payload swaps, enabling mission-specific configurations while supporting future upgrades.