L3Harris Rock Lobster Acoustic Relay Links Australian and US Undersea Comms at RIMPAC 2026

L3Harris demonstrated its Rock Lobster expendable underwater acoustic communications relay during the RIMPAC 2026 exercise near Hawaii in a trial involving American and Australian maritime participants. The experiment paired the acoustic relay with a Seasats Lightfish solar-powered unmanned surface vessel to connect underwater equipment with communications nodes above the surface. The architecture is intended to pass information between dispersed subsurface sensors or vehicles and operators without requiring each submerged asset to surface. Conducted within AUKUS-related undersea experimentation, the activity demonstrated communications integration rather than an operational fleet deployment, and no confirmed range or data-rate performance figures were released.