Disclaimer
This page sets out the basis on which everything else on this site is published. If a figure, an image or a statement anywhere on hulkdefense.com matters to a decision you are making, read this first.
1 · Programme status
The HD-18 is a prototype programme. The design is frozen at V10 and the first vessel is entering construction. No HD-18 has completed construction, been launched, undergone sea trials, entered service or been delivered to any customer.
Where this site describes what the vessel does, carries, reaches or withstands, it is describing design intent supported by engineering analysis, not demonstrated performance. We use the phrase designed to carry deliberately and consistently in preference to carries.
2 · Technical figures
Every technical figure published on this site is generated from the HD-18 V10 master engineering model dated 16 August 2026. Figures are not transcribed by hand from a document, and the site is regenerated when the model changes.
They are calculated design values derived from naval-architectural and structural analysis. They are not measurements. They have not been verified by trials, by a classification society, or by any independent third party. Performance figures assume the stated operating point — speed, depth, sea state, hotel load and payload condition — and will differ under other conditions.
Design values carry the usual margins and assumptions of a detailed design at this stage. Some will move before the first vessel is complete. The revision and date shown in the footer identify what you are reading.
3 · Imagery
Every image on this site is a computer-generated visualisation produced from the HD-18 engineering model. No image on this site is a photograph of a physical vessel, in whole or in part, and none depicts a real place, a real crew or a real event.
This includes images that are photorealistic in style — quayside scenes, crane and lifting operations, travel-lift and launch scenes, fabrication-hall, shed and dockside settings, harbour scenes at dusk or in weather, machinery and compartment interiors, and images showing the HD-18 surfaced, submerged or under way. All are renderings. Backgrounds, vessels, cranes, buildings, quays, equipment and personnel appearing in them are illustrative, and no facility, port or item of shore infrastructure shown is a real place.
Renderings show a design under development. Details of finish, fittings, markings, equipment selection and arrangement may differ from any vessel eventually built.
4 · No offer, no quotation, no commitment
Nothing on this site is an offer to sell, an invitation to treat, a quotation, a tender, or a commitment to deliver to any specification, schedule, performance level or price.
Pricing is not published. Configuration, specification, delivery position, price, payment terms, warranty and support are agreed in writing, per customer, in a signed contract. Only such a contract creates obligations on either side. Statements on this site, in correspondence, or in a briefing do not.
References to build slots, series production or delivery positions describe commercial availability at the time of writing and are subject to change without notice.
5 · Technical documentation
The engineering report, bill of materials, costing workbook, CAD and payload interface drawings are released to qualified parties under a mutual non-disclosure agreement, and release is assessed case by case. Nothing on this site entitles any party to receive them. See export and use.
6 · Regulatory and classification status
There is no settled classification-society rule set for an uncrewed submersible of this type. The HD-18 has no class notation, no flag-state approval and no type certification, and none should be inferred. Regulatory pathway, class involvement and any required approvals are matters to be agreed with a customer and the relevant authorities for a specific programme and operating area.
Operation of an uncrewed underwater vessel is subject to the law of the flag state and of any coastal state in whose waters it operates. Determining what is lawful for a given deployment is the operator's responsibility.
7 · No reliance
This site is published for general information. It is not technical advice, engineering advice, procurement advice, legal advice or financial advice, and it should not be relied on as the basis for a procurement, investment, operational or safety decision.
Before relying on anything here for a decision that matters, engage with us directly so that the figures can be checked against your actual requirement and operating conditions.
8 · Forward-looking statements
Statements about construction, schedule, delivery, future capability, planned variants or intended performance are forward-looking. They reflect current intent and current information. They involve risks and uncertainties inherent in developing and building a first-of-class vessel, and actual outcomes may differ materially. We undertake no obligation to update them.
9 · Changes to this site
The design is under active development and this site changes with it. Figures, imagery and statements may be added, amended or withdrawn at any time without notice. Archived or cached copies of this site may show superseded information.
10 · Questions
If anything on this site is unclear, or you need a figure confirmed for a specific purpose, write to info@hulkdefense.com and a person will answer you.
Last updated 16 August 2026.