The Royal Australian Navy has taken delivery of the fifth and final locally-developed Ocius Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessel.
In the early months of this year, the service received the inaugural Ocius Bluebottle as part of a Defense Innovation Hub initiative.
Following that initial delivery, on Friday, the 9th of June, the ADF marked a milestone as they received the fifth and final Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV).
Ocius USVs have the ability to navigate across oceans worldwide, powered by renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and/or wave energy. This allows them to operate persistently and remain at sea indefinitely, limited only by biofouling.
“They (Ocius USVs) provide leading edge capabilities to assist in contending with an increasingly complex strategic environment,” said Assistant Minister for Defence, Matt Thistlethwaite.
“Investing in partnerships with Australian companies such as Ocius Technologies is critical if Australia is going to meet the challenges of our dynamic strategic environment,” he added.
The Australian Navy will add the latest BlueBottle to a fleet of four already in service.
Ocius says the Bluebottle has a 5 knot hull speed with a 300kg modular payload. It can be launched via boat ramps or ships and has 50W of average payload power.
