In a groundbreaking demonstration, the Royal Navy has successfully trialled five remotely-piloted unmanned boats escorting warships over 500 miles away off the coast of Scotland. The 72-hour exercise, part of the Navy’s Disruptive Capabilities and Technology Office (DCTO) programme, showcased how autonomous vessels could operate alongside traditional warships.
Seven 7.2m Rattler boats were tested in collaboration with HMS Tyne, HMS Stirling Castle, P2000 HMS Biter, and a Merlin helicopter. From aboard XV Patrick Blackett in Portsmouth, sailors, Royal Marines, and Army personnel controlled the boats, which received live data from onboard sensors and cameras, successfully escorting the vessels acting as foreign warships.
This marks the first time the Royal Navy has procured a fleet of customised unmanned surface vessels. Built in record time alongside a consortium of SMEs, the boats are designed to operate individually or as part of a coordinated swarm, with the capability for pre-programmed missions and eventual autonomous operations.
Each vessel is operated by a two-person team, using a fully portable “plug and play” laptop system. Their modular design allows adaptation for surveillance, reconnaissance, and payload delivery, with rapid deployment by air, road, or portable slipways.
Commander Michael Hutchinson, leading the Fleet Experimental Squadron, said: “This is a really important moment for the Royal Navy as we progress towards a Hybrid Navy of crewed and unmanned platforms. These platforms will support existing and future warships and fundamentally change the way we fight.”
Brigadier Jaimie Roylance, Chief Technology Officer of the Royal Navy, added: “This is the first time we have been able to field a capable, mission-ready, deployable unmanned system at sea. The speed and success of this project highlight the Navy’s commitment to advancing autonomous capabilities.”
The trials form part of a broader initiative to integrate unmanned and autonomous systems, with XV Patrick Blackett paving the way for future autonomous operations and XV Excalibur serving as a testbed for underwater warfare.
