A USV equipped with low-cost missiles to provide counter-drone air defence is the goal of a new partnership between ACUA, Babcock, and Frankenburg.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreeing to work together to develop the platform was signed at the Farnborough International Air Show earlier this month.
Plymouth-based marine technology specialists ACUA Ocean is supplying the base platform in the shape of its Pioneer uncrewed surface vessel (USV), a 14-metre catamaran built on a Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) design.
Over the last 12 months the drone has completed three contracts commissioned under the RN’s Atlantic Net Technology Demonstrator Programme; during June it also completed a five-day autonomous at-sea demonstration while carrying two separate sets of sensors.
Babcock will be supplying the launcher system, which can rapidly be fitted onto both crewed and uncrewed vessels as required.
It had already signed a previous MOU with Estonian-based defence technology start-up Frankenburg Technologies in January to develop a low-cost maritime air defence system to help ships fend off enemy drone attacks.
Frankenburg also has bases in Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and the U.K.; its flagship product is its Mark 1 Missile, a 65cm guided interceptor intended to neutralize Group 1–3 drones and loitering munitions.
As per Babcock: “The tripartite agreement underpins Babcock’s existing defence expertise and supports the UK’s vision for a Hybrid Navy where Babcock is developing the technologies and capability to underpin this next-generation autonomous capability.”
Its CEO Marine Sir Nick Hine said: “We’re excited to partner with innovative companies to develop an integrated approach that directly addresses some of the biggest challenges our customers face in today’s defence landscape.
“As a trusted systems integrator, collaborations like this will help protect critical national assets and infrastructure from attritable one-way attack drones.”
ACUA CEO Neil Tinmouth added: “To counter mass drone attacks, maritime air defence must be uninterrupted, yet rough weather often forces traditional systems out of limits.
“The unique stability of ACUA’s Pioneer-class, which we’ll be using for this collaboration, ensures these counter UAS and interchangeable payloads remain online and fully operational in high seas where other platforms fail.”
And Frankenburg Technologies’ U.K. MD Daniel Hallett added: “By equipping ACUA’s uncrewed vessels with Frankenburg’s mass-manufacturable missiles and Babcock’s launcher technology, we aim to create a persistent and low-cost way to protect the U.K.’s ships, ports and critical maritime infrastructure against mass drone attacks.”
- You can read more details on the Babcock website
