# Indo Pacific 2025: C2 Robotics Unveils Loitering Munition-Armed Variant of Speartooth LUUV

November 6, 2025 – Melbourne-based C2 Robotics revealed a new variant of its large unmanned underwater vehicle (LUUV), Speartooth, equipped with a retractable launcher and a pod-deployable loitering-munition payload. The capability was showcased at Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition 2025 in Sydney, where the demonstrator displayed a payload bay with hatches and a stowed launcher built to eject precision loitering munitions from underwater platforms. (Source: Janes)

“We’ve developed a pod-launchable loitering munition that can be incorporated onboard Speartooth. The weapon uses optical guidance based on terrain data and can reach targets without relying on GPS or radio datalinks,” said Tom Loveard, co-founder and CTO of C2 Robotics, during a Janes briefing at the show.

What Was Shown

• Pod-launchable loitering munition: The demo featured an unnamed quadcopter-style loitering munition with four rotors mounted on swing-out wings to minimize its stowed footprint inside the LUUV payload bay.

• Retractable launcher & payload bay: Speartooth’s modular bay includes hatches and a retractable launcher designed specifically to deploy such munitions from the surface after surfacing or from shallow submersion.

• GPS-independent guidance: Like C2’s OGRE delivery system, the loitering munition uses optical terrain-based guidance allowing it to navigate to a target without GPS or continuous radio links—useful in contested or degraded-satcom environments.

• Multimission LUUV platform: The Speartooth LUUV is a large-displacement autonomous platform built for persistent operations in contested maritime zones; early variants include ~8 m and ~4 m lengths to meet different endurance and payload needs.

Operational Implications

• Expanded mission sets for unmanned undersea platforms: Integrating pod-launchable aerial munitions extends Speartooth’s role beyond ISR, mine countermeasures and logistics to include over-the-horizon strike and distributed lethality.

• Contested-environment resilience: Optical, terrain-based guidance reduces dependency on GPS and datalinks—an advantage in electronic-warfare or denied environments.

• Convergence of undersea and airborne autonomy: The Speartooth variant demonstrates an emerging pattern where unmanned maritime systems become motherships for autonomous aerial effectors, increasing tactical flexibility.

• Legal & ethical considerations: Weaponising LUUVs raises questions about rules of engagement, identification, and escalation in maritime domains that will likely prompt debate among policymakers and operators.