Hunterwater: Taking Sailors Out of the Minefield
Mine clearance has long been recognized as one of the most perilous tasks in naval operations, placing sailors and divers in harm’s way as they navigate waters rife with hidden dangers.
L3Harris has addressed this critical safety issue with the development of Hunterwater, a state-of-the-art unmanned surface vehicle designed to enhance sailor and diver safety.
In the words of Nino DiCosmo, President of Maritime, Space, and Mission Systems at L3Harris, “Minehunting has always demanded extraordinary courage from those tasked with carrying it out. Hunterwater is our answer to a question the Navy has been asking for decades: How do you clear a minefield without putting sailors in it?”
Hunterwater is not merely a conceptual design but a fully operational system ready for deployment in contemporary mine countermeasure scenarios. It autonomously conducts the entire minehunting cycle—searching for, identifying, and neutralizing threats—without requiring any sailor to enter the water.
The vehicle is equipped with an advanced robotic kit, which includes the ROVSCAN. This hybrid technology merges the maneuverability of a remotely operated vehicle with the precision of sidescan sonar detection. Upon detecting a threat, Hunterwater utilizes a compact and disposable acoustic-guided vehicle to autonomously re-acquire and neutralize the danger. This innovative approach to neutralization leverages low-cost, disposable solutions to maintain operational cost-effectiveness while ensuring high performance.
Designed with operational flexibility in mind, Hunterwater excels in today’s dynamic military environment. It operates effectively unmanned or can host a crew, covering distances exceeding five nautical miles from its parent vessel. The vehicle can seamlessly integrate with other unmanned surface and autonomous underwater vehicles, such as L3Harris’ Iver4, and its transportability in a single 40-foot ISO container makes it a valuable asset for fast-moving navies operating across multiple theaters.
When the mission at hand involves minehunting, Hunterwater stands ready to respond effectively and safely.
Source: L3Harris (2026-11-03)
