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US Lockheed Martin Unveils “Lamprey” Autonomous Undersea Vehicle, Video
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Lockheed Martin unveiled its new Lamprey Multi-Mission Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (MMAUV), describing it as a “plug-and-play” autonomous submersible designed to give US and allied forces an advantage in contested maritime environments, the company reported in a news release on February 9.
The company said the system was developed around US Navy requirements for covert access and sea denial operations, with the ability to arrive in theater fully charged and ready for missions.
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Lockheed Martin highlighted Lamprey’s design concept of “mimicking nature,” allowing the vehicle to attach to a host surface ship or submarine without modifications and recharge its batteries using built-in hydrogenators.
According to Lockheed Martin, Lamprey can support a wide range of missions, including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, targeting, multi-intelligence collection, and the delivery of kinetic and non-kinetic effects. It can also deploy equipment to the seafloor.
“The modern battlespace demands platforms that hide, adapt and dominate,” said Paul Lemmo, vice president and general manager of Sensors, Effectors & Mission Systems at Lockheed Martin, adding that the internally funded program allowed rapid iteration to deliver “a true multi-mission weapon that detects, disrupts, decoys and engages on its own.”
Lockheed Martin said the vehicle features an open-architecture payload bay, enabling customization for different mission sets, from anti-submarine torpedoes to UAV launchers. The company framed Lamprey as a dual-mode platform capable of switching between assured-access missions, such as stealth intelligence and precision strike, and sea-denial roles, including electronic disruption, decoy deployment, and kinetic attack.
Lockheed Martin said Lamprey is intended to provide persistent autonomous undersea presence at lower cost than manned platforms, strengthening seabed control and undersea operational reach.
Previously, Lockheed Martin had doubled production of the HIMARS launchers and delivered its 750th unit—a manufacturing surge will help supply sustained long-range firepower for Ukraine and US forces alike.
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