Latvian firm completes EU-funded USV production project

Latvian unmanned systems manufacturer NEWT21 has completed an EU-funded project to move its FOG and RAY unmanned surface vehicles from prototype to production-ready status, the company announced on Tuesday.

The project, formally titled “Modernisation of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) and Preparation of the Production Process,” carried the reference number 1.2.1.1/3/25/A/005. NEWT21 said the work was co-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.

Through integration, testing and final technical documentation, NEWT21 said both platforms are now qualified at Technology Readiness Level 8, a designation indicating a system has been proven to work in its final form and under expected conditions, and are ready for standardized manufacturing and commercial rollout.

FOG is a high-speed tactical USV built for rapid deployment, stealth reconnaissance and interception, with a carbon-fiber and aramid-fiber hull. Ukraine’s armed forces have used the FOG for reconnaissance and patrol missions in the Black Sea, and UAV Navigation-Grupo Oesía has demonstrated an autonomous control system aboard a FOG unit during U.S. Special Forces maritime exercises in Cartagena, Spain.

RAY is a larger, multi-modular USV built for logistics, surveillance and hydrographic missions. NEWT21 said the vessel is 5,400 millimeters (17.7 feet) long with a 2,250-millimeter (7.4-foot) beam, weighs under 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) and can carry payloads of up to 500 kilograms. Twin 90-horsepower waterjets give it a cruising speed of 50 kilometers per hour (27 knots) and a top speed of 78 kilometers per hour (42 knots), with an endurance of up to 700 kilometers (378 nautical miles) at cruising speed.

NEWT21 has marketed RAY for a range of roles beyond direct combat, including cargo resupply, medical evacuation using fixed mounts for four standard stretchers, amphibious landing support for unmanned ground vehicles, and use as a mothership for interceptor drones or mine-countermeasure equipment including sonar and an underwater remotely operated vehicle. The company said RAY’s ground control station can command up to 32 USVs at once and supports autonomous mission planning and swarming.