HULK DEFENSEUncrewed underwater vessels

HD-18 specification

Every figure below is generated from the HD-18 V10 master engineering model. None is transcribed by hand.

Envelope and form

Length overall18.00 m
Beam3.80 m
Depth moulded3.40 m
Deck corner radiusR200
Bilge radiusR1,100
Flat deck width3.40 m
Entrance · parallel body · run3.00 · 10.00 · 5.00 m
Prismatic coefficient0.819
Wetted surface273.5 m²
Envelope volume182.7 m³

Hydrostatics and stability

Submerged displacement82.94 t
Light ship46.19 t incl. 10% margin
Fixed ballast19.75 t · 23.8% of displacement
Closure residual0.00 kg
KB1.9088 m
KG1.2997 m
BG0.609 m
Righting moment0.8817 t·m per degree
LCG − LCB0.0000 m
Main ballast tank volume14.10 m³
Installed tankage34.71 m³ gross
Surfaced reserve buoyancy17.4%
Freeboard, surfaced320 mm of dry deck
Tank permeability0.92

Payload

Configuration3 sealed pressure-balanced compartments
Compartment envelope3.50 × 2.80 × 1.45 m
Volume per compartment14.21 m³
Total payload volume42.63 m³
Compartment pitch3.60 m · stations 2.70 to 13.50 m
Cargo deadweight17.0 t
Payload modules6 · 2 per compartment
Module envelope2.44 × 1.09 × 1.10 m · 4 mm skin
Module clearances60 mm wide, 60 mm long, 350 mm standing
Cargo per module2,833 kg
Lift mass per module3,071 kg
Module lifts6 scissor tables · 1,670 mm stroke, 250 mm collapsed
Reference cargo density399 kg/m³
MountingFour machined flange mounts per compartment, landing on ring-frame stations
ConnectorsSubConn / MCBH — 44 bulkhead and 44 cable ends, dry 1-atm junction boxes

Pressure balance

PrincipleCompartments charged with air to sea pressure when submerged
Design differential1.00 bar
Control band±0.15 bar · ±1.49 m of depth
Relief setting0.5 bar
Proof test3.017 bar — 1.5× the unbalanced head
Boundary plate8 mm on 300 mm stiffening
Design-case stress70.3 MPa · SF 3.06
Loss-of-pressurisation stress141.4 MPa · SF 1.52
Material5083-H116 · 215 MPa yield
Pressurised volume50.737 m³ · compartments and trunks
Compartment mass, each2,027 kg

Deck access

Hatches6 upward-hinging, dogged, seated plug closures
Clear opening1.15 × 2.50 m
Cover1.35 × 2.70 m · 8 mm plate on 186.5 mm webs
Dogs per hatch14 at 19.3 kN
Seal12 mm nitrile O-ring on a machined seat, 100 mm land
Opening angle95°
Balancing2 gas springs · 13.2 kN manual effort
Uplift, relief valve lifted162.5 kN — carried by the dogs
Seated load at depth653.6 kN · 66.6 t — carried by the seat
Opening conditionSurface only
Access trunks6 · 1.15 × 2.50 × 0.47 m

Propulsion and energy

Battery pack750 kWh LFP
Usable energy600 kWh at 80% depth of discharge
Diesel generator150 kWe
Fuel3,960 L · 3,326 kg · pressure-compensated
Specific fuel consumption0.212 kg/kWh
Quasi-propulsive coefficient0.68
Propellers2 × 0.80 m diameter on 1.90 m centres
Control planesX-form, 1.10 m span, 1.55 m chord
Hotel load, submerged2.0 kW
Hotel load, payload active8.0 kW
Snorkel duty30% at the transit condition

Performance

Submerged range486 km at 4 kn · 65.6 h
Diesel transit range4,528 km at 6 kn · 407.5 h
Declared total range5,014 km
Sprint speed12 kn · 79.1 km · 3.56 h
Bus power at sprint168.6 kW
Service life500 h between overhauls

Air plant

Free air per cycle142.78 m³
Compartment charge100.70 m³
Main ballast blow42.07 m³
Bottles13 × 50 L at 300 bar
Stored free air195 m³
Compressor15 m³/h
Recharge time12.85 h
Design margin×1.35 on one full cycle
Charged-air mass123.4 kg — carried in the weight statement

Mast and communications

Stages3
Stowed length1.6842 m
Stroke4.693 m
Snorkel depth1.20 m
Masthead above water3.81 m
Trunk0.60 m wide, watertight, with a dedicated hinged access hatch
GlandPressure-tight, in the mast hatch
Links carriedSatellite broadband, cellular, satellite short-burst data, long-range LPWAN
Long-range linkApproximately 50 bps usable at 10 km, 1.5–3 s latency — telemetry and waypoint command, not remote control

Structure

Shell plate8 mm
Stiffener pitch300 mm
Stiffener web184.9 mm
Ring frames8 at 12 mm, 220 mm web
Section modulus required45.6 cm³
Operating depth20 m · 2.011 bar gauge
Yield depth30.4 m
Collapse depth54.7 m

Programme

ProgrammePrototype — entering construction
Package revisionV10, 16 August 2026
Model revisionRevision F — master.json
Engineering report136 pages, 90 tables, 19 sections, 6 appendices
Engineering deck44 slides
Bill of materials172 costed lines in 14 systems, 226 researched components
Direct labour5,978 hours across engineering, fabrication and assembly
Market designationHD-18
Engineering designationIS-18 Revision F

Figures. Every row above is generated from the HD-18 V10 engineering model dated 16 August 2026. Market designation is HD-18; the same platform is IS-18 Revision F in the engineering pack, and both appear on the data sheet so the two can be reconciled. See the disclaimer.

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