Image: Ocius
Canberra has committed $176 million to Sydney-based Ocius Technology to deliver a fleet of Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessels to the Royal Australian Navy — one of the largest USV acquisition contracts ever recorded globally.
The five-year Program of Record begins in early 2026 and expands the Navy’s existing inventory of 15 registered Bluebottle vessels. The contract targets persistent undersea warfare and maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities across Australia’s vast ocean territory.
A Proven Platform Scaling to Fleet Strength
The Bluebottle is an Australian-designed USV powered by solar, wind, and wave energy. Its renewable propulsion enables extended operations while maintaining acoustic silence — a decisive advantage for sub-surface surveillance. The vessel’s patented winch-in-keel design supports modular payloads across varied mission sets, and it operates autonomously in harsh conditions over long durations.
Bluebottles already support Operation Resolute, the Australian Defence Force’s border protection mission, conducting 24/7 maritime surveillance in Australia’s northern approaches. They have also operated with the Australian Border Force on surface threat detection. That operational track record underpins the Navy’s expanded commitment.
Rear Admiral Stephen Hughes, Head of Navy Capability, said the platform delivers “flexible, persistent and capable long-range ISR.” He noted the Bluebottle’s ability to carry multiple modular payloads for multiple missions and said it could “autonomously monitor designated areas for lengths of time in dangerous and harsh maritime conditions.”
Manufactured in Australia
The expanded fleet will be built at Ocius’ new facility in Sydney, with additional production support from a site in NSW’s Hunter region. The contract deepens Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base and its domestic capability in advanced maritime technologies, backed by a local supply chain.
Ocius CEO Robert Dane said the company had spent more than two decades building toward the milestone. He described Bluebottles as “satellites of the sea” — providing continuous watch over and beneath Australia’s oceans at what he called a “disruptively low cost.” Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the investment backed “Aussie innovation and a world-leading platform,” according to the official Ocius announcement.
Strategic and Regional Context
Australia manages one of the world’s largest maritime zones. Growing regional tensions and the increasing sophistication of undersea threats have sharpened Canberra’s focus on persistent, low-cost domain awareness. A large USV fleet extends that awareness without the crewing burden of conventional vessels.
The Bluebottle contract places Australia alongside the United States, United Kingdom, and other naval powers accelerating investment in autonomous maritime systems. For the Royal Australian Navy, the programme marks a substantial step toward an integrated, uncrewed capability at operational scale.
Further details on the Bluebottle programme and Ocius Technology are available on the Ocius website.