Correction: L3Harris Technologies has delivered only one Iver4-900 PW unmanned undersea vehicle to the U.S. Navy.
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit selected L3Harris Technologies to provide the Navy with an underwater drone for use in expeditionary undersea missions, according to a Jan. 14 news release from the company.
As part of the contract, L3Harris delivered for testing an Iver4-900 PW unmanned undersea vehicle, which comes with two field swappable modular payload sections that, along with additional sensors, will allow the vehicle to detect, classify, localize and identify targets on the ocean floor, the release said.
This drone was delivered in December 2019 and will be modified through 2020, which is the expected duration of the program, according to a company spokeswoman. She would not share the value of the contract.
“The Iver4 is leading the next generation of small class UUVs,” said Daryl Slocum, vice president of unmanned maritime systems at L3Harris Technologies. “This platform has been custom-built to address the needs of the Expeditionary Mine Countermeasures and Explosive Ordnance Disposal communities.”
The contract award comes as the Navy seeks to bolster its unmanned inventory. Congress recently approved the purchase of two large unmanned surface vessels for the service.
In 2019, L3Harris received a contract from the University of Southern Mississippi for an older version of the underwater drone to be used by the university’s school of ocean science and engineering.
Chiara Vercellone is a reporter interning with Defense News, C4ISRNET and Fifth Domain Cyber
