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Australian Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessels will soon begin trials in the waters around Japan, according to defence industry insiders.
The Japanese Ministry of Defence has allegedly purchased at least two Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessels, manufactured by Ocius Technology in Sydney, for delivery in March next year. Those vessels will reportedly undergo a series of trials in the sea environment around Japan, according to industry insiders.
Each vessel features diesel hybrid electric engines to provide persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance without the need for continuous crewed deployment.
It was previously speculated that Ocius would market the platform towards the Japanese Ministry of Defense, after the company displayed promotional material in Japanese at the Indian Ocean Defence & Security Conference & Exhibition held in Perth earlier this year.
Australian Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, speaking on ABC Radio National on October 16, confirmed that the Bluebottle vessels are a world-class design.
“We've allocated a $176 million contract for our own Bluebottles. We're running over ten now, and our fleet will be over 50 when that's finished. That will be the largest fleet of uncrewed maritime surveillance vessels in the world, and we're also acquiring some for Fiji,” he said.
“These are brilliant vessels. They're small yacht-sized dinghies that run on solar, wave and wind power. They're fitted with radars, cameras and sonar, and they've got a great ability to detect and track maritime vessels and submarines at long distances.
“So, this is Aussie innovation, basing technology at the University of New South Wales with boat builders from the Hunter Valley, and it's a great example of us working with the Pacific to make our region safer, to obviously deal with military threats but also the scourge of drug trafficking which affects all countries in the Pacific.”
Earlier today, Minister Conroy officially opened the Ocius Technology advanced engineering, production and maintenance hub for Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessels in Sydney, including a new 24/7 global operations centre supporting missions worldwide.
It’s understood that Australia will also provide Bluebottles from Ocius to the Fijian government to assist in intercepting illegal drug vessels in the region in 2027.
Ocius Technology Ltd, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Robert Dane, speaking with Defence Connect, confirmed that the Bluebottle platform is ready for contested environments.
“We’re low observable. We’re very low, really hard to see. But if somebody was chasing us, we have tactical range advantage because we can see things usually way before they can see us,” he said.
“We can put our sail down and go quiet and just wander off. But if we were being chased and we were being picked up by a foreign ship, we have a self-destruct mechanism (in case of capture).
“We’re getting lots of pattern-of-life (routines, date) to the north of Australia and to the north of New Zealand and Fiji.
“There is now interest all around the world, particularly in high latitude countries like NATO, for the hybrids (version of Bluebottle).”
In addition, it’s understood that an undisclosed number of Bluebottle USVs have recently been deployed to the recent AUKUS Pillar II Maritime Big Play Pacific demonstration in the Southern California operating area this month. That exercise is led by the US Navy alongside international military and research partners from Australia and the United Kingdom.
The experimentation event is expected to achieve milestones in integrating mature robotics and autonomous systems within AUKUS coalition maritime operations.
“This demonstration represents a significant step forward as partners to integrate and fight together in future conflicts,” said Gerry Tighe, U.S. Lead for AUKUS Maritime Big Play.
“This effort strives for seamless integration of autonomous systems with our conventional maritime fleet, and further as part of a greater combined partner force.
“We’ve brought together cutting-edge systems from across our shared industrial base, put those solutions into the hands of AUKUS Warfighters so they can train together, and removed the technical barriers for integrating those advanced capabilities into no-kidding operations.
“Maritime Big Play underscores the shared commitment of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to maintaining security, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.”
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