Historical developments in USV, UUV and UGV systems. Original milestones, source-linked evidence and reviewed UXV Searcher analysis.
On July 8, 2026, KPW Świnoujście signed contract 65/TO/2026 with Gdańsk University of Technology's Security and Defence Technologies Centre for the periodic overhaul of three portable Głuptak systems. The contract value is PLN 2,311,194.60 and covers restoration and verification of the existing systems rather than purchase of new remotely operated vehicles.
Original event: 8 Jul 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
On July 14, 2026, KPW Gdynia opened defence procurement 84/KPW/BP/2026 for assembly, commissioning, and user training covering two GAVIA systems. The requirement is an integration and training service applied to two systems and does not itself establish purchase of two newly manufactured AUVs.
Original event: 14 Jul 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
On July 17, 2026, KPW Świnoujście signed contracts 67/TO/2026 through 73/TO/2026 with Gdańsk University of Technology's Security and Defence Technologies Centre for seven lots of UKWIAŁ 207 support equipment.
Original event: 17 Jul 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
On February 7, 2026, the EDA-managed SABUVIS II project completed its second stage after four years of work on coordinated autonomous-underwater-vehicle swarms, with Germany participating through WTD 71.
Original event: 7 Feb 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
On February 25, 2026, TKMS ATLAS ELEKTRONIK and Israel Aerospace Industries handed the first BlueWhale large autonomous underwater vehicle to the German Navy at Eckernförde. The system supports anti-submarine warfare, covert underwater reconnaissance, surface-target surveillance, and mine detection under the Kurs Marine 2035+ modernization effort.
Original event: 25 Feb 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
On March 10, 2026, the Royal Navy reported structured operator training on the SeaCat UUV systems supplied through the UK Mine Hunting Capability program.
Original event: 10 Mar 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
On March 11, 2026, EUROATLAS and EvoLogics publicly presented and christened the first fuel-cell GREYSHARK Foxtrot prototype, named 'Franzi,' at Damp. The Foxtrot configuration targets long-endurance underwater surveillance and defence missions including critical-infrastructure protection, mine countermeasures, and anti-submarine warfare.
Original event: 11 Mar 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
During the week beginning April 6, 2026, GREYSHARK Foxtrot entered the water for its first documented in-water testing near Damp. The campaign evaluated the fuel-cell prototype following earlier land-based propulsion and system work and represented a distinct prototype-maturation milestone before later SeaSEC activity.
Original event: April 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
On April 10, 2026, TKMS and the German Aerospace Center signed an MoU to expand joint research on protection of critical maritime infrastructure and related maritime technologies. TKMS explicitly stated that autonomous underwater vehicles such as SeaCat would be deployed within the cooperation.
Original event: 10 Apr 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
From April 13-24, 2026, GREYSHARK Foxtrot continued its prototype test campaign during the German Navy-linked SeaSEC Data2Sea experimentation period. The vehicle was evaluated in an operational maritime environment focused on seabed security, critical-underwater-infrastructure surveillance, and integrated data collection.
Original event: April 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
From April 13-24, 2026, the battery-powered GREYSHARK Bravo participated in SeaSEC 2026 during the final phase of its operational-trials program. The campaign provided a German Navy-linked environment for evaluating the more mature Bravo architecture in seabed-security, infrastructure-protection, mine-countermeasure, and related underwater-defence missions.
Original event: April 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
During SeaSEC 2026, GREYSHARK sensor data from roughly 40 kilometres offshore was transmitted through an EvoLogics receiving mast and integrated into shore-based systems.
Original event: April 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
On April 15, 2026, the European Commission selected the TKMS ATLAS ELEKTRONIK-coordinated SHIELD project under the European Defence Fund. SHIELD is intended to develop an Unmanned Underwater Super System combining unmanned vehicles, sensors, AI-enabled services, and communications into a distributed underwater-defence architecture.
Original event: 15 Apr 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
On April 15, 2026, the European Commission selected ABYSSA under the European Defence Fund, with Germany's Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft participating in the Fincantieri-coordinated consortium.
Original event: 15 Apr 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
On April 21, 2026, SeaCat was documented operating submerged and resurfacing during the German Navy-organized SeaSEC Data2Sea sea trials. The campaign evaluated autonomous underwater situational-awareness capabilities relevant to critical-underwater-infrastructure protection, harbour security, and mine reconnaissance.
Original event: 21 Apr 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
During the April 13-24, 2026 SeaSEC Data2Sea campaign, EvoLogics Quadroin autonomous underwater vehicles were documented among the underwater systems participating in the Deep Six autonomous-systems architecture.
Original event: April 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
On April 23, 2026, the Bundestag adopted coalition motion 21/5478 addressing Germany's maritime security, resilience, and technology base. The policy direction calls for strengthening development and future procurement of autonomous maritime capabilities, including underwater systems, to improve maritime-domain awareness and infrastructure protection.
Original event: 23 Apr 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026
On April 23, 2026, the German Navy's 3. Minensuchgeschwader presented SeaCat during a mine-countermeasures capability briefing in Kiel. The AUV represented the autonomous wide-area sonar-search element used to locate and classify underwater contacts while reducing personnel exposure to mine threats.
Original event: 23 Apr 2026
Published: 10 Oct 2026