SubSea Craft, NSI Integrate Arowana With MARS USV

Teams demonstrated an integrated underwater drone and surface vessel system during an AUKUS-linked exercise in the Pacific.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Robotics

Bold vector editorial illustration of a gray unmanned surface vessel on teal ocean with torpedo-shaped underwater drones launching from its stern and a third drone surfacing beside it. — SubSea Craft and Naval Systems, Inc. integrated an unmanned surface vessel with underwater drones in a demonstration completed within 48 hours for a U.S. Navy solicitation. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

SubSea Craft and Naval Systems, Inc. (NSI/DF) integrated SubSea Craft's MARS unmanned surface vessel with NSI/DF's Arowana unmanned underwater vehicle for a demonstration. The systems were integrated, tested, and demonstrated within 48 hours.

Why it matters

The demonstration showed multiple Arowana UUVs launched from a surface vessel to conduct simulated kinetic engagements against surface targets over the horizon. Technologies were selected for Maritime Big Play Pacific through the U.S. Navy's BARB solicitation.

The integrated system was assembled and demonstrated in 48 hours after roughly a month of hardware integration, interface development, and testing with MARS and CADDIS. Specific performance metrics such as range, depth, or engagement accuracy were not disclosed in the source material.

The players

Camilla Martin

Chief Executive Officer of SubSea Craft, the company that builds the MARS unmanned surface vessel and CADDIS UAS involved in the demonstration.

Ed Rule

Chief Executive Officer of Naval Systems, Inc. (NSI), a company whose Arowana underwater vehicle was integrated with the MARS vessel.

Robert Gibson

Chief Engineer and Managing Director of Dragonfish Technical Solutions, LLC, a technical solutions firm involved in the program.

The details

During the demonstration, multiple Arowana UUVs were launched from the MARS USV to simulate kinetic engagements. Arowana was also integrated with SubSea Craft's CADDIS UAS, a diver-deployable platform that travels to the surface before transitioning to flight toward a designated target, with information relayed to the Arowana during an underwater launch.

Roughly one month of hardware integration and testing preceded the demonstration.
The systems were integrated, tested, and demonstrated within 48 hours of initial planning and design.
Demonstrations took place as part of an OUSW(R&E)-sponsored BARB assessment in the Pacific.

The Tech Race

The demonstration sits within the AUKUS partnership's push to field autonomous undersea and surface systems in the Indo-Pacific. It reflects a broader trend of pairing crewless surface vessels with underwater drones to extend naval reach over the horizon.

For most readers the demonstration does not change everyday tech use directly. It signals how autonomous maritime systems may be fielded for defense exercises in the Pacific.

The takeaway

Rapid integration of commercial unmanned platforms shows how quickly defense technology can move from separate systems to a combined capability when developers collaborate closely.