Unmanned Craft News Roundup | April 24 – Global maritime security craft developments

It's an all-security roundup this week as we cover deliveries in New Zealand and a string of new orders in South Korea and the United States. Featured operators include those in the defence and customs enforcement sectors.

Republic of Korea Navy selects local builder for combat-capable USVs

South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has begun collaborating with the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) to develop new combat-capable unmanned surface vessels (USVs), HHI said in a press release on Tuesday, April 22.

The company has received an order from the ROKN in line with a conceptual design project that involves deploying USVs in combat roles.

Ultra Maritime and Ghostworks Marine unveil anti-submarine USV

Ghostworks Marine has unveiled the designs and operational concepts for its maritime anti-submarine warfare (ASW) USVs utilising Ultra Maritime sonobuoys.

The 90-foot (27.4-metre) platform, dubbed "Medusa", will carry Ultra Maritime's mission pod and towed array. The 20-foot containerised mission pod was specifically designed for smaller, minimally crewed and uncrewed vessels.

ThayerMahan christens unmanned surveillance vessel

ThayerMahan has christened its first "persistent unmanned undersea surveillance vessel", known as "Outpost TM001".

The platform was designed to deliver scalable wide-area maritime surveillance capability to mitigate a rapidly growing undersea threat.

Saronic unveils large multi-mission security USV

Saronic Technologies has announced a 150-foot (46-metre) USV purpose-built to support a wide range of missions for the US, its allies, and commercial customers.

With a payload capacity of 40 tonnes, the autonomous ship is designed to travel up to 3,500 nautical miles or loiter for more than 30 days, depending on mission requirements.

New maritime security USVs enter service in New Zealand

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and the New Zealand Customs Service have unveiled and named two new unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) to help combat transnational serious and organised crime.

The two agencies have acquired the USVs to further enhance New Zealand’s ability to patrol and protect its maritime interests and security.