By Vicky Uhland, Seapower Correspondent
The world’s seas and oceans can be literal minefields. But conducting underwater explosive ordinance disposal and mine countermeasures can put divers directly in harm’s way. That’s why the U.S. Navy launched its Maritime Expeditionary Standoff Response (MESR) program.
MESR relies on underwater remotely operated vehicles supplied by VideoRay (Booth 3028), a global leader in underwater robotic systems that was acquired by Pottstown, Pennsylvania-based BlueHalo (Booth 1401) in 2024.
“The key idea is in the word ‘standoff’ in MESR — using robotic systems to safely investigate and neutralize underwater threats from a distance,” said VideoRay CEO Chris Gibson.
VideoRay’s Mission Specialist Defender ROV is the core underwater platform for MESR, and in 2024, the company was awarded a $92.6 million contract by the U.S. Navy. An additional $30.7 million was awarded in March by the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific to provide systems engineering and support services for Defender systems.
“This follow-on contract highlights the U.S. Navy’s commitment to adapting and customizing our commercial off-the-shelf defense solutions to meet the evolving needs of its expeditionary forces,” said BlueHalo CEO Jonathan Moneymaker.
Along with detecting and neutralizing underwater mines and IEDs, Gibson said Mission Defender ROVs support the following MESR missions:
• Amphibious operations. The Defender can clear hazards near shorelines or harbors.
• Rapid response in contested environments. This includes denied-access zones and littoral battlespace.
• Remote investigation. Operators can pilot the Defender from a safe distance (on land or on ship, for instance) to evaluate suspicious objects underwater.
• EOD and MCM tool delivery. The Defender can carry and deploy tools like disruptor chargers, cutters and neutralizers that are key for mine or ordinance disposal.
“Bottom line, our ROVs are the frontline eyes, hands, and sometimes tools in the MESR program,” Gibson said.
There are currently 130 to 140 Defender systems operating around the world. Along with the U.S. Navy, Gibson said VideoRay also works with several other countries’ navies, including those of the United Kingdom and Australia.
Future plans for VideoRay ROVs include substantially increasing their capability to move into deeper water. Gibson said currently they stop at 300 meters below the surface, but they’ll soon be able to travel to 600 meters.
“The U.S. Navy has us working on capabilities of 4,000 meters by the end of the year, and 6,000 meters is on the horizon in the next year and a half,” he said.
VideoRay is also working on tetherless ROVs. “Right now, for the traditional systems, they’re connected to a robot with a cable, and a lot of the capabilities have to be in a minefield to deploy,” Gibson said. Not only could tetherless systems be operated remotely around the world, but they could also expand their focus to missions like protecting underwater communication cables.
