Defence firm Scientific Systems (SSCI) has teamed up with Tideman Marine and Sea Machines to launch VENOM, a new uncrewed surface vessel (USV) it hopes to market to the U.S. Department of Defense.
VENOM, an acronym of Vehicle for Expeditionary Naval Over-the-Horizon Missions, is a nine-metre USV capable of a top speed in excess of 35 knots.
The platform is Tideman Marine’s hull made from welded high-density polyethylene (HDPE); it is controlled via a combination of Sea Machines’ SM300 autonomy software suite, which provides core navigation and real-time obstacle avoidance; and SSCI’s Collaborative Mission Autonomy software, which enables swarming behaviours by multiple units.
The drone vessel boasts a range in excess of 500 nautical miles (assuming 24 knots and moderate sea state) and a “loiter” endurance of about 130 hours. SSCI describes VENOM as a low-cost, tested and qualified platform; the Burlington, Massachusetts firm claims that together with its partners it is ready to manufacture the USV at scale “to meet anticipated DoD needs.”
SSCI’s recent press statement noted: “VENOM has demonstrated the ability to autonomously transit through contested water space, avoiding static and moving obstacles, loiter in an assigned operating area while monitoring for maritime surface threats, and then sprinting to interdict a noncooperative, manoeuvring vessel, making it ideal for missions including force protection (kinetic and non-kinetic), persistent ISR, contested logistics, and maritime patrols & security.”
Scientific Systems Chief Executive Officer Kunal Mehra commented: “The future of warfare is software-driven. We are proud to continue to develop the type of cutting-edge autonomous solutions the U.S. Navy needs to confront a new generation of threats at sea.”
- You can read more details on the Scientific Systems website and on the Sea Machines website