Unmanned Craft News Roundup | April 15 – Naval vehicles in the US and Saudi Arabia

The US Navy takes delivery of two different classes of unmanned vessels as two new designs of autonomous craft are unveiled, including one that can be configured as an expendable munition. Meanwhile, a US-Saudi collaboration seeks to introduce a new series of USV.

Collaboration to develop maritime security USVs in Saudi Arabia

SAMI-L3Harris, a joint venture between L3Harris Technologies and Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Saudi Arabia's Zamil Shipyards regarding the integration of autonomous technology into existing and future vessels.

Alastair Bisset, General Manager of Zamil Shipyards, said the MOU will lead to the creation of some of the first unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) to be manufactured in Saudi Arabia.

Defence firm unveils new AUVs that can also be used as expendable munitions

Defence technology company Anduril Industries has unveiled a new series of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that can be fitted with munitions to enable them to be used as expendable weapons for undersea warfare.

Anduril's Copperhead-M AUV is designed as a munition variant that arms autonomous vehicles with affordable torpedo-like capabilities that can also be mass-produced. This allows commanders to use autonomous vehicles for high-risk missions, engaging maritime threats more precisely and effectively while protecting valuable assets and personnel.

HII delivers mine-hunting USV pair to US Navy

HII announced the delivery of the first two Lionfish small uncrewed undersea vehicles (UUVs) to the US Navy under a program that could scale to 200 vehicles, with a contract value exceeding $347 million.

Lionfish is based on HII’s Remus 300 platform, a modular, open-architecture UUV engineered for multi-mission adaptability, and the program was developed in collaboration with the US Navy and Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), to accelerate the adoption of dual-use commercial technologies into US Department of Defense programs.

Bollinger Shipyards delivers three anti-mine USVs to US Navy

Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the first three mine countermeasures unmanned surface vehicles to the US Navy.

These vessels are the navy’s first program of record, non-prototype autonomous surface ships, a significant step towards the transition to autonomous maritime operations.

ESNA/Eureka reveal high-speed autonomous assault craft concept

Norway's ESNA, the USA's Eureka Naval Craft and Australia's Greenroom Robotics have unveiled a high-speed autonomous assault craft that features a heavy deck payload capacity of 40 tonnes.

“This is a high-speed, high-tech ship able to operate crewed and uncrewed," said Eureka Naval Craft CEO, Bo Jardine.