Unmanned surface vehicles

Unmanned surface vehicles (USV)s - ships and boat projects have reached a critical level of development.

Just as UAVs are taking over many airborne military activities, USVs are poised to take over surveillance, re-supply and patrol missions in the near future.

Defenseworld.net takes a look at some the programs under development.

Sea Hunter: Sea Hunter is an autonomous unmanned surface vehicle (USV) launched in 2016, powered by two diesel engines with a top speed of 27 knots weighing around 135 tons.

Marine Lizard: world's first armed amphibious drone boat. Operational range of 1,200 kms, the Marine Lizard can be remotely controlled via satellites.

Pacific 24: The Pacific 24 is a rigid inflatable boat made by BAE Systems in the UK, Autonomous drone boat alongside a warship, transmitting imagery from the vessel to the ship.

Knifefish: Knifefish is a heavyweight class Mine Countermeasure (MCM) Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) designed for deployment off the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).

Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle (LUSV) ship: The LUSV will be a high-endurance, reconfigurable ship able to accommodate various payloads for unmanned missions to augment the Navy’s manned surface force.