TECH

British Royal Navy buys robotic patrol boats

Britain, the former lady of the seas, today is scarce in resources for naval forces. Therefore, the development of the fleet depends on small autonomous surface and underwater vessels. It is unlikely to allow an attack, but protect and growl - completely.
British company BAE Systems announced that it has concluded a contract with the British Royal Navy for the supply of unmanned Pacific 24 (P24) unmanned patrol boats to troops. The contract is worth £ 3.2 million ($4 million) and can be extended if the command finds unmanned P24 boats in demand for the tasks.
The P24 unmanned patrol boat can operate independently or under the control of a warship. P24's autonomous missions may include anti-piracy operations, border control, continuous information collection, maritime security and military confrontation, all without risk to the health and life of seafarers.
The P24 autonomous boat is a rigid hull inflatable boat (rigid inflatable boat, RIB) with installed sensors and an autopilot system. In addition, a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) is installed on the boat, which can transmit very loudly when and where needed. We add that the length of the boat reaches 7.8 m and the speed that it develops is 38 knots (70 km / h). At patrolling speed of the battery charge, enough for 45 hours of boat systems.
The sensor kits mounted on the P24 unmanned boat include high resolution thermal and optical cameras. Part of the equipment was developed by L3Harris and the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). The boat acceptance tests will be completed this year, after which the navy will decide on further upgrades or order a fleet of robotic boats to serve future classes of warships.

AVnews/mundophone