Abstract: An installation and methods for recovering and/or launching a surface marine vehicle or an underwater vehicle (1), in particular an AUV, from a recovery base (5). The installation comprises a floating cage (10) defining a housing (16) in which at least a portion of said vehicle (1) can penetrate, first puller means mounted on said cage and capable of pulling said vehicle into said housing, via a first flexible connection, typically a cable (22), and second puller means (7) for mounting on the recovery base (5) and capable of pulling said cage via a second flexible connection (9, 70) distinct from the first.

Abstract: Apparatus for recovering a surface marine vehicle or an underwater vehicle, in particular an AUV, the apparatus comprising a frame (14) defining a housing into which the vehicle (1) can penetrate via an entrance, and further comprising: reception means (18) for receiving the nose of the vehicle (1), reception means being capable of moving along said housing when the vehicle penetrates therein, said reception means (18) possessing sufficient freedom of movement relative to the frame (14) to be able to follow the movement of the vehicle while the reception means and the vehicle are situated in the vicinity of the entrance of the housing; and guide means (58, 60) for guiding the reception means (18) when the vehicle penetrates into the housing, and for causing the reception means (18) and the vehicle (1) to become aligned therealong by progressively limiting their freedom to move relative to the frame as the vehicle penetrates into the housing.