Export and use
The HD-18 is an uncrewed underwater vessel. It, and the technical data that describes it, may be controlled technology. This page sets out how we handle that.
1 · Controlled technology
Uncrewed underwater vessels and their design data may be subject to export control in Canada under the Export and Import Permits Act and the Export Control List, and to equivalent regimes in other jurisdictions. Depending on configuration and destination, a permit may be required before technology is transferred or a vessel is exported.
The public material on this site — these pages, the data sheet and the capability sheet — is published as general commercial information at a level intended to sit outside controlled technical data. Nothing on this site should be treated as a licence, a permit, or an assurance that any particular transfer is permitted.
2 · The engineering record
The engineering report, the bill of materials, the costing workbook, the CAD and the payload interface drawings are controlled and released case by case, under a mutual non-disclosure agreement, after an assessment.
When you request them we ask for your organisation, country, role and intended use. We use that to assess the release before anything is sent. Please do not ask us to skip that step; we will not, and asking tends to end the conversation.
Where a release requires a permit, we will apply for it. That takes time, and we would rather tell you so at the outset than miss a deadline you were counting on.
3 · End use and end user
We assess end use and end user before entering a commercial discussion. We do not supply, and do not release technical data to:
- parties subject to applicable sanctions, asset freezes or arms embargoes
- parties on a denied, debarred or restricted-party list in a jurisdiction that binds us
- destinations subject to an applicable embargo
- any party where we assess a material risk of diversion, or of use in serious violations of international humanitarian law or human rights law
We may ask for an end-use statement or end-user certificate, and we may decline an enquiry without giving a reason. Re-export and retransfer are restricted by the terms of supply, and those restrictions survive delivery.
4 · Your obligations
If you receive technical documentation from us, you are responsible for handling it in accordance with the non-disclosure agreement and with the export-control law that applies to you, including controls on onward transfer to your own staff, affiliates and subcontractors of other nationalities.
5 · Operating law
Operating an uncrewed underwater vessel is separately regulated. Flag-state requirements, coastal-state rules on navigation and survey in territorial waters and exclusive economic zones, and rules on operating uncrewed vessels vary widely and are still developing. Establishing what is lawful for a given deployment is the operator's responsibility, though we will help where we can.
6 · Classification and certification
There is no settled classification-society rule set for an uncrewed submersible of this type. The HD-18 has no class notation and no type certification. Where a customer requires class involvement or a specific approval pathway, that is agreed as part of the programme.
7 · Questions
Export questions go to info@hulkdefense.com and are answered by a person, not a form. If you are unsure whether something can be shared with you, ask before you ask for it.
Last updated 16 August 2026.