New Zealand’s electric jet drone boat passes key test

EDGE Defence, an Auckland-based defense technology company, announced it successfully launched and recovered its all-electric jet unmanned surface vessel called Whai from an unmanned boat launcher, a floating platform designed to deploy and retrieve smaller uncrewed craft without needing a crewed mothership standing by. The milestone came over two days in Auckland Harbour during what the team called some of the country’s coldest weather of the season.

“We continue to make progress with our USV Whai, breaking new testing grounds and undertaking some firsts. Electric Jet USV being launched and recovered by an Unmanned Boat launcher, both being 100% kiwi designed pieces of technology! Watch this space, more to come!” EDGE Defence said.

The test built on months of development work EDGE Defence has put into Whai, a compact unmanned surface vessel the company first unveiled publicly in March 2026 as what it described as Australasia’s first all-electric jet USV built specifically for defense and security missions. Whai relies entirely on electric propulsion driving a water jet rather than a conventional propeller, a design choice that lets the vessel run in near silence and with a sharply reduced thermal signature compared to diesel-powered boats, since electric motors generate far less heat than an internal combustion engine working under load. That low-signature profile matters directly for the kind of covert surveillance missions EDGE Defence has built Whai to perform, since a boat that runs quiet and cool is significantly harder for an adversary’s sensors to detect during operations close to contested shorelines or sensitive maritime infrastructure.

Whai itself is a genuinely small platform, measuring roughly 3.4 meters (11.2 feet) in length and less than a meter (3.3 feet) wide, light enough that EDGE Defence says just four personnel can lift and deploy it without heavy equipment. Despite that compact footprint, the vessel can reach speeds up to 30 knots (56 kilometers per hour, or 35 mph) and carries a modular payload bay capable of holding up to 350 kilograms (770 pounds) of equipment, room enough for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sensors or communications relay gear depending on the specific mission. At slower cruising speeds below 4 knots, an onboard solar array can keep the vessel running on energy it generates itself, extending how long Whai can loiter on station without needing to return for a battery recharge.

Deploying a small vessel like Whai from an unmanned boat launcher rather than a crewed mothership addresses one of the harder practical problems facing navies that want to operate fleets of small, disposable drones at sea. Launching and recovering a small USV from a larger crewed vessel typically requires sailors on deck managing lines, cranes, or specialized recovery gear, work that becomes considerably more dangerous in rough seas or when operating close to a hostile shoreline where exposing crew on an open deck creates unnecessary risk. An unmanned launcher removes that human exposure from the equation entirely, letting a navy or coast guard position both the launcher and the smaller vessel it carries without putting sailors in a vulnerable position during the handoff itself, a capability that becomes increasingly valuable as maritime forces across the Indo-Pacific look to expand how many uncrewed systems they can field without proportionally expanding crew requirements.

Andrew Edwards, who shared details of the test on behalf of the team, described the personal significance of the milestone.

“Very proud of the team EDGE Defence NZ with what we believe is another New Zealand first. Yesterday and today, on New Zealand’s coldest days, we successfully launched and recovered our full electric jet powered, unmanned surface vessel, Whai, from an unmanned boat launcher. Both full launch and recovery were successful. In addition, we also undertook full autonomous trials with a chase boat further out in our beautiful Auckland Harbour. Great progress from John Gell and Jack Towers, and special thanks to our key suppliers,” Edwards said.

Earlier reporting on the platform’s development noted the company built Whai in under two months from initial design through water trials, working with more than ten local suppliers and subcontractors to deliver a fully domestic platform on a timeline that would be unusually fast even for a well-funded, established defense contractor.

Whai is designed to function as more than a standalone product, serving instead as the centerpiece of what EDGE Defence calls its MODUS Swarm ecosystem, a modular, containerized deployment system built around the idea that a single standard shipping container could carry a dozen Whai vessels ready for deployment almost anywhere in the world with only basic setup required.

EDGE Defence has said Whai remains in the experimentation and operational testing phase, with the company actively engaging defense forces, government agencies, and commercial stakeholders across the Indo-Pacific region as it works toward broader procurement discussions.