MARTAC Demonstrates USVs in Australia, Germany
July 6, 2022
By Tom Atwood
With an overarching theme of “Remote and Autonomous Systems and Artificial Intelligence” (RAS-AI), Autonomous Warrior is the largest unmanned systems Operational Experimentation (OPEX) event conducted in Australia. As reported by NavalNews.com, Autonomous Warrior 22 (AW22) was a recent Australian Navy-led OPEX activity held 16-27 May in the vicinity of Jervis Bay and from several remote sites in Australia and overseas. The event provided Australian and international military and industry partners opportunities to demonstrate innovations in autonomous and uncrewed systems and related technologies for use in maritime and littoral domains, including operations in complex, congested and contested environments.
Several MARTAC Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs), including the DEVIL RAY T38, were active during the exercise. Naval News reportedly witnessed them while underway in Jervis Bay. Two MANTAS T12s, smaller electrically driven USVs outfitted with sensors, were also being used. Commodore Darron Kavanagh, Director-General Warfare Innovation Navy (WIN) told Naval News that an important capability offered by the MARTAC products was their ability to “nest” wherein the smaller T12 “drove onto the larger T38s aft”. During the exercise, T12s from Australia and New Zealand cooperated to perform a range of missions.
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As reported by Oceannews.com, Subsea Europe Services, a specialist in marine survey systems and services, has opened the rental book on its next-generation Uncrewed Surface Vehicle (USV) for marine data acquisition to International Hydrographic (IHO) s-44 standards. Ready for surveying this summer, the MANTAS T12 USV, called ‘Autonomous Surveyor’ has already been put through its paces with two days of intensive demonstrations at the German Hydrographic Society’s “Hydrographentag 2022” conference held in Bremerhaven in June 2022. In comparison to the process of mobilizing a crewed survey vessel (which may not always be ready to go), the speed and operational flexibility of the MANTAS T12 can significantly reduce the costs of marine data acquisition.
The unique performance of the MANTAS T12 platform is based on experience gained by MARTAC Systems Inc. in creating unmanned patrol and anti-submarine vessels for defense and government clients. Subsea Europe Services expects the solution to enable significant reductions in operations and maintenance costs for offshore oil and gas fields, and wind farms, owing to its unmatched ease of deployment and transit speeds.
Photos courtesy of AW22, MARTAC, Naval News and Subsea Europe Services.
