Austal Australia converts patrol boat into unmanned vessel
Austal Australia is converting the former patrol boat HMAS Maitland into an unmanned platform. (Photo: Department of Defence)
The Royal Australian Navy is involved in converting a patrol boat into an unmanned vessel, while it also seeks new workboats and another LMV-M contender reveals its landing craft design for the Australian Army.
Austal Australia is transforming the decommissioned HMAS Maitland, an Armidale-class patrol boat, into an unmanned platform at its shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia.
This work is occurring under the Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT), which is seeing collaboration between Austal, the Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre and the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Warfare Innovation Navy Branch.
Austal has also subcontracted L3Harris to aid with the autonomous technology on the vessel.
Austal stated: ‘The trial will establish robotic, automated and autonomous elements on a patrol boat, providing a proof-of-concept demonstrator, for optionally crewed or autonomous operations for
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