~ AUVs increasingly recognised as an important force multiplier for submarines
~ AUVs offer a capability to extend their reach into the littoral battlespace and undertake tasks such as covert intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)
~ the complexities associated with AUV launch and recovery from a torpedo tube, and
~ the tyranny imposed on the form and size of the vehicle,
~ led BMT to look instead at an alternative solution based on a ‘wet’ Casing Mounted Hangar (CMH)
~ BMT had asked whether it is possible to engineer a solution from today’s components to realise [this] new capability
~ developed a concept design for CMH facility suitable for installation on the casing of conventional submarines of 2,400 tons displacement or more