Raytheon and CET Demonstrate Carbon Fiber HADALUS Undersea Vehicle

Updated on August 17, 2026 • 6 min read

Raytheon, an RTX business, and Composite Energy Technologies (CET) have successfully demonstrated the undersea launch capability of HADALUS, a new long-endurance unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) built around an all-carbon-fiber exoskeleton.

The 34-foot vehicle completed a series of at-sea missions during a recent U.S. Navy exercise at an undersea test range, including demonstrating its ability to launch a system while remaining submerged.

According to Raytheon, this was the first time the U.S. Navy had observed the integrated capability operating in the water.

Beyond the autonomous undersea technology, HADALUS is notable from a composites perspective. Its developers are using carbon fiber not simply to reduce weight, but as the basis of a free-flooded structural architecture intended to combine strength, payload capacity and lower vehicle cost.

HADALUS Uses an All-Carbon-Fiber Exoskeleton

HADALUS measures approximately 34 feet long with a six-foot cross section and is designed for missions exceeding 2,000 nautical miles.

At the center of its structural design is what Raytheon and CET describe as a free-flooded, all-carbon-fiber exoskeleton.

This architecture differs from treating carbon fiber as a secondary cover or individual lightweight component. Instead, the composite structure forms a fundamental part of the vehicle’s overall design.

For an unmanned undersea platform, structural engineering has to account for payload integration, hydrodynamic requirements and operation in a demanding marine environment.

CET’s approach uses the composite exoskeleton to provide structural strength and payload capacity while supporting the vehicle’s lower-cost architecture.

Why Use a Free-Flooded Structure?

The term free-flooded is important to understanding the HADALUS design.

Rather than requiring the entire external vehicle structure to function as one large dry pressure hull, free-flooded sections allow seawater to enter designated areas of the vehicle. Components that need protection can then be housed separately in appropriate pressure-resistant enclosures.

Such an architecture can change the structural requirements placed on portions of the external vehicle.

In HADALUS, CET has combined this concept with carbon fiber composite construction as part of an effort to produce a capable long-endurance UUV without adopting the cost structure of some conventional platforms.

Raytheon says HADALUS is targeted to cost approximately one-third to one-fifth as much as comparable long-endurance vehicles.

That cost figure is a company target rather than an independently demonstrated lifecycle cost comparison, but it illustrates the manufacturing objective behind the platform.

More Than 2,000 Nautical Miles of Endurance

HADALUS is being developed for long-range autonomous underwater operations.

Its specified endurance of more than 2,000 nautical miles gives the platform the potential to operate over considerable distances without relying on a crewed vessel for continuous operation.

Raytheon is developing the vehicle toward a broader concept in which a single unmanned platform could conduct multiple stages of an undersea mission.

The company identifies detect, reacquire and engage as functions that could ultimately be brought together within one mission architecture.

The latest demonstration focused specifically on validating the platform’s integrated undersea launch capability.

From Sketch to Underwater Demonstration in 18 Months

Another notable aspect of the program is its development timeline.

Raytheon and CET report that HADALUS progressed from an initial conceptual sketch to a complete prototype demonstrated in the water in less than 18 months.

Both companies invested in development and construction of the vehicle.

Work included the composite vehicle architecture as well as integration of the launcher, sonar, electronics and associated mission systems, followed by system-level testing before the Navy exercise.

CET CEO and president Chase Hogoboom said the program combines CET’s composite vehicle architecture with Raytheon’s sensors, mission systems and integration capabilities.

Composites Become Part of the UUV Cost Equation

Carbon fiber is often associated with premium applications where performance justifies a substantial material and processing cost.

HADALUS presents a somewhat different proposition.

Here, the developers are positioning the composite architecture itself as one element of a lower-cost vehicle concept.

That distinction is significant.

The engineering question is no longer simply whether carbon fiber can provide high specific strength or corrosion resistance. For scalable unmanned systems, manufacturers also have to consider manufacturing complexity, assembly, payload integration, production rate and total platform cost.

If HADALUS progresses toward larger-scale production, the program could provide an interesting case study in whether large carbon fiber structures can support not only high-performance underwater vehicles but also a more cost-driven manufacturing model.

Carbon Fiber Moves Deeper Into Autonomous Marine Systems

Carbon fiber composites are already established across aerospace, defense, marine and pressure-vessel applications. Autonomous underwater vehicles introduce another demanding operating environment where structural efficiency and system integration can influence overall vehicle capability.

HADALUS demonstrates how composites can be incorporated at the architectural level rather than limited to isolated components.

With its 34-foot size, 2,000-plus-nautical-mile endurance and all-carbon-fiber exoskeleton, the platform also illustrates how large composite structures are becoming part of the development of increasingly capable autonomous maritime systems.

The latest U.S. Navy demonstration represents an important validation step, although Raytheon and CET have not disclosed a production contract or fleet deployment schedule.

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