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US Navy launches Blueye X3 tethered drone from torpedo tube for submerged submarine inspections
The US Navy launched a tethered Blueye X3 remotely operated vehicle through a submerged USS Pasadena torpedo tube during an August 24 trial near Norfolk. Sailors developed a launch arrangement using low-voltage wiring and a custom three-dimensional-printed waterproof housing, with materials and labor costing less than $1,000 excluding the existing vehicle. The Green Remora project demonstrated an approach to external hull inspection and security checks without sending divers into the water. The trial offers a comparatively inexpensive way to deploy an inspection vehicle from a submarine, while remaining a remotely operated demonstration rather than an autonomous operational system.