What’s Next for LampreyMMAUV™?

When the Submarine Forces Atlantic (SUBLANT) opened the doors to LANTERNFISH, a subsea and seabed warfare (SSW) exercise, LampreyMMAUV™ entered the water with a single, ambitious goal: prove that a single unmanned platform could autonomously survey, disrupt, and deliver mission‑specific payloads in a contested, GPS‑denied environment.

Unveiled in February 2026, LampreyMMUAV™ is a more advanced, specific type of unmanned underwater vehicle with proven capability for Mission Autonomy:

• Hitch-Hiking- Latches onto a host ship and recharges its batteries via built in hydrogenators. It arrives fully powered and ready for action.
• Operates Autonomously – LampreyMMAUV™ can disrupt enemy sensors, drawing adversaries off-target, giving friendly forces fresh ways to monitor and deter threats.
• Open Architecture Payload Bay – From anti-submarine torpedoes to UAV launchers, operators can swap mission kits in minutes, tailoring the vehicle to any scenario. 

• Integrated Survey‑and‑Emplacement Capability- Conducted a full cable‑survey using MMAUV v1.0 and then precisely placed a payload at the surveyed location.
• Enabling Collaboration- Showcased the platform’s open‑architecture payload bay, opening pathways for collaboration with both government and industry partners to deliver mission‑specific payloads to locations that were previously inaccessible.

“Mission Autonomy is a new way of thinking about how a platform can be fully integrated with a payload and command and control systems,” said Mark Johnson, Program Management Director for LampreyMMAUV™. “This versatility is integral in defining safe and agile capabilities, and LampreyMMAUV™ makes that possible.”  

Advancing Undersea Mission Autonomy for U.S. Navy and Allied Operations 

LampreyMMAUV™ embodies the shift from platform-centric technology to Mission Autonomy. In an increasingly contested undersea domain, naval forces require autonomous systems that can adapt in real time to shifting mission demands. Advancements in mission autonomy are helping meet that need—delivering greater flexibility and persistence below the surface.

As undersea missions become more complex, the ability to dynamically adjust navigation, stealth and engagement tactics by mission will be critical. This makes systems like LampreyMMAUV^TM increasingly important for the U.S. Navy and its allies. 

The seamless integration of platform, payload and Command and Control (C2) creates a single, adaptable tool that supports sea denial strategies, making LampreyMMAUV™ a concrete step toward true autonomous mission execution across the undersea domain.