The demonstration: Raytheon and Composite Energy Technologies demonstrated HADALUS, an uncrewed undersea vehicle, launching weapons while submerged during a US Navy exercise — the first time the Navy has seen this integrated detect-reacquire-engage capability in the water.
The design: HADALUS is 34 feet long with over 2,000 nautical miles endurance, using a free-flooded carbon fibre exoskeleton hull that avoids a heavy pressure-tight body, letting the companies claim a cost roughly a third to a fifth of comparable long-endurance vehicles.
The context: Built from concept to water-tested prototype in under 18 months on company funding, HADALUS goes beyond most undersea drones that only search and report, echoing Britain's own Project Cetus and Atlantic Bastion push to pair crewed submarines with uncrewed underwater vehicles.
