HII’s futuristic mini-sub

A new mini-submarine-like vehicle, designed for stealthy manned and unmanned military operations by Huntington Ingalls Industries and Batelle, has the potential to provide covert combat personnel with significant fire power. Proteus could be described as a hybrid of an underwater vehicle and a drone. As an underwater vehicle, Proteus is designed for up to six combat divers to penetrate enemy territory by water. In the future, there may be potential for submersibles like Proteus to be used offensively by the Navy. If Proteus was eventually equipped with weapons, then just like dogfights with aircraft, SEALs could fire weapons in underwater battles. As an insertion vehicle, Proteus is smart. It can switch from being driven as a vehicle to driving itself and running its own missions. Proteus can also deliver air, surface and underwater micro-drones to a target and launch them. Proteus and other drones working together as a team were tested in 2017 at Naval Special Warfare Center Panama City, Fla.’s Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX). Proteus successfully delivered and launched the micro-drone team to perform its missions. (Source: Fox News 06/07/18) HII’s Undersea Solutions Group first showed off Proteus e at the Navy League’s 2015 Sea-Air-Space Exposition. In January 2015, HII acquired the Engineering Solutions Division (ESD) of The Columbia Group, a leading designer and builder of unmanned underwater vehicles for domestic and international customers. As a previous stand-alone division within The Columbia Group, ESD is headquartered in Panama City Beach.