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Ocius expands Bluebottle USV capabilities

10th November 2023 - 08:00 GMT | by Tim Fish in Sydney

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The five 6.8m-long Bluebottles were purchased under a AU$4.9 million (US$3.3 million) contract inked on 24 November 2022. (Photo: Tim Fish)

A growing number of uncrewed systems have been on show at Sydney's Indo-Pacific Maritime exhibition with a select few currently being trialled to see if they can enhance the Royal Australian Navy's surveillance levels.

Five Bluebottle Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) have been purchased by the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN’s) Warfare Innovation (WIN) Branch under a rapid technology development contract. The vessels were delivered between January to July 2023.

The USVs have been used in trials off Australia’s East Coast in partnership with the RAN to prove a range of capabilities including Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and the ability to provide a gateway communications capability to bridge the sea-air gap in data transfer.

Speaking to Shephard at the exhibition, Ian Milliner, business development manager at Ocius, said that the first four Bluebottle

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Tim Fish

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Tim Fish is a special correspondent for Shephard Media. Formerly the editor of Land Warfare …

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