FARNBOROUGH, England — Unwilling to wait for the next naval show, BAE Systems has taken the unusual decision to launch two new boats at the Farnborough International Airshow.
The firm announced Wednesday that it was converting two of its rigid inflatables to unmanned versions, and would be taking them to an unprecedented British Royal Navy trial for unmanned platforms in the Hebrides off Scotland in October.
Equipped with radar, optical sensors, data links, a towed acoustic array and, potentially, a small unmanned helicopter, the boats are designed to stay at sea for days, searching for submarines or pirates and undertaking surveillance after being launched from manned vessels.
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The two vessels — in their manned versions — are already in use by the Royal Navy.
The Pacific 24 craft is based on many Navy ships, while the larger Pacific 950 is used by the Royal Marines. Measuring 9.5 meters and able to carry a 2-ton payload over a distance of 180 nautical miles, the latter vessel can reach 47 knots.
Now, following a £1.4 million (US $1.8 million) investment, BAE Systems has removed the crew and installed the new kit in their place for unmanned missions, including a small unmanned helicopter that planners hope — following further tests — will be able to take off from and land on the boat at sea.
An acoustic array, which can be remotely winched in and out, has been tested, and BAE envisages the use of analogue radio signals with a 35-mile range to link the boats to their motherships.
Apart from spotting smugglers or submarines, the inflatables could be used to assist the boarding of vessels.
"If you are boarding a vessel, you cannot see what is happening on the other side, where people might be escaping or throwing things into the water," said Alan Watson, a business development manager at BAE Systems. "That is where the unmanned boat could be."
Early trials took place in the Solent, a strait off the English coast, two weeks ago, ahead of Unmanned Warrior 2016, which will be the largest Royal Navy trial to date of unmanned platforms at sea and will serve as a chance for industry to impress with new developments.
Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.
