Four new autonomous craft have been handed over to the Philippine Navy while a French-developed USV is in the final stages of testing prior to commencing work with a Malaysian operator. A Russian firm has unveiled a new USV series while a US manufacturer has delivered a UUV to an undisclosed owner. Lastly, the Swedish military as selected a German-designed USV for use by army engineering units.
The Philippine Navy formally received four autonomous underwater and surface vehicles (AUSVs) from the US Government on Monday, June 22.
The AUSVs were supplied by Gulfport, Mississippi-based unmanned systems specialist Ocean Aero for a total cost of PHP754 million (US$12.3 million).
The US Embassy in the Philippines said the delivery of the AUSVs would enhance the Philippine Navy's ability to, "detect and respond to maritime challenges and illegal maritime activities."
Russian engineering firm Zala recently unveiled a new series of unmanned surface vehicle (USV) designed for commercial and security applications.
Examples of the USV will be capable of a range of tasks including patrol, hydrographic surveys, environmental monitoring, pollution response, light cargo transport, and search and rescue.
Each craft will have aluminium and composite construction and a payload bay that can accommodate various sensors and other equipment totalling 300 kg. The payload can be configured accordingly to suit various mission requirements.
Malaysian subsea installation specialist the OMS Group has confirmed the start of sea acceptance tests (SATs) of a new unmanned surface vehicle (USV) acquired by the company from French robotics manufacturer Exail.
Elite is one of two USVs that OMS acquired from Exail earlier this year. The craft will be used for seabed surveys, route verification, and monitoring.
The USVs belong to an existing series with examples already in operation in other countries. The craft are capable of long-duration operations of up to 30 days.
The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has awarded a contract to Swedish company Buvi Scandinavia to deliver an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) manufactured by Berlin-based EvoLogics.
The USV will primarily be used within the field engineering domain to survey waterways before the establishment of floating bridge systems. The contract value is SEK43 million (US$4.6 million), including options.
The contract includes a complete system package with support services and training. The systems will mainly be used by the Swedish Army’s engineer units, and the procurement has been carried out by FMV’s army materiel division in collaboration with representatives from the naval materiel division.
US military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has delivered the first unit of its new series of compact unmanned underwater vehicles to an undisclosed US-allied nation on June 16.
Developed as the third generation of the previous line of vehicles, the system incorporates upgraded electronics, open-architecture interfaces, and increased payload flexibility.
The platform features a two-person-portable design that operates at depths of up to 100 metres and provides up to 10 hours of operational endurance.
