According to information published by US Department of Defense on April 13, 2021, Hydroid Inc., Pocasset, Massachusetts, is awarded a $74,700,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, containing firm-fixed-price provisions. This contract is for the procurement of MK 18 Mod 2 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) Increment II Payload Upgrade hardware, in support of the existing MK 18 Mod 2 UUV program.
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Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish (Picture source: Autonomous Undersee Vehicle Applications Center)
Work will be performed in Pocasset, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed in April 2026. Fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,112,827 will be obligated at time of award on the first delivery order and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
This contract was not competitively procured on the Beta.SAM.gov website, in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, is the contracting activity (N66604-21-D-C000).
MK 18 Mod 2 Kingfish UUV is based on the REMUS 600 and has increased area coverage rate (ACR), increased endurance, and will serve as a platform for advanced sensors. The Kingfish Small Synthetic Aperture Sonar Module (SSAM) configuration provides wider swath, higher resolution imagery, and buried target detection.
The REMUS Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (AUV) was first developed in the late 1990s for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute by Hydroid, a subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime. The man-portable class 36 kg REMUS 100 AUV is used by the U.S. Navy for shallow water mine countermeasures (MCM) and hydrographic reconaissance. The Japanese Defense Ministry operates four of the REMUS 600 meter variants and one REMUS 100 for seafloor mapping and MCM.
