New USV enters service with Royal Navy

The Royal Navy has officially welcomed a new unmanned surface vehicle (USV) into service.

Named the Maritime Demonstrator For Operational Experimentation (Madfox), it is derived from an existing USV developed by technology firm L3Harris.

The earlier L3Harris USV has been operated by Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) on a series of trials with the navy for the past 18 months.

Royal Navy experimentation division NavyX will continue testing of the Madfox USV while also examining how the vessel can be utilised across a range of military operations including surveillance and force protection.