Russia's Admiral Nevelskoy Maritime State University (MSUN) has begun conducting sea trials of a new catamaran unmanned surface vehicle (USV).
The craft belongs to the Project MANS02 series. Its trials were conducted within MSUN's testing facilities in Amur Bay just off Vladivostok.
The USV is being developed to serve as part of what MSUN called a "marine robotic triad." Specifically, the USV will serve as a carrier vehicle for a payload-carrying unmanned underwater vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle.
A catamaran design was selected for the USV due to its increased stability, smoother ride, and the greater deck space made possible twin hulls.
The USV has an LOA of 7.2 metres and 100Ah lithium iron phosphate batteries, which were chosen due to their high thermal stability and their suitability for use in maritime applications.
The batteries supply power for two outboards.
MSUN said that although the USV was designed for fully unmanned operation, the trials were conducted with an operator on board the craft in line with established global practice for testing autonomous marine systems.
The university said the catamaran demonstrated high controllability and satisfied design parameters during the trials, having reached its rated design speed of six knots.
