Splash Industries adds drone-launching module to Typhoon USV

Splash Industries has introduced a new mission module for its Typhoon uncrewed surface vessel that lets operators launch one-way aerial drones from the boat, the company said Monday.

The module, called the Airstrike Pack, allows operators to deploy the aerial assets with the press of a button through Splash’s own command and control software, Splash C2. Splash, based in Inglewood, California, said the module has already been tested during a force-on-force exercise.

“By taking this vertically-integrated approach, we’re able to provide an industry-leading UAV deployment capability at a tenth of the price of our nearest competitor,” the company said in its announcement. Splash attributed the module’s ruggedness, low cost and ease of use to in-house electronics and software.

The Typhoon is an 11-foot uncrewed surface vessel that Splash Industries has been developing for national security missions, including cargo delivery and maritime surveillance. The company says the vessel sells for about a tenth of the price of comparable systems and can be assembled in eight hours, with its software, electronics and sensors designed in-house.

The Typhoon has a sustained speed of more than 50 knots, according to Splash, and reached speeds beyond 70 knots in testing. The vessel has an operational range of more than 600 nautical miles (1,111 km) and carries a modular deck that can be reconfigured for different cargo or sensor payloads.

In July, a Typhoon USV carried out what Splash Industries described as the first fully autonomous underway resupply of a U.S. Navy warship, delivering parts to the USS Essex (LHD 2) during the Rim of the Pacific exercise near Hawaii. The vessel navigated the amphibious assault ship’s wake and entered its flooded well deck without any radio or satellite command during the operation, which was overseen by the Naval Postgraduate School’s Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education.

During the same 24-hour period, a Typhoon also delivered uncrewed aerial system components manufactured aboard the USS Essex by U.S. Marine Corps personnel back to shore, according to a statement from the consortium.

Splash Industries came out of stealth in July with a $4.2 million funding round led by Ubiquity Ventures. At the time, the company said its vessels had logged more than 10,000 nautical miles (18,520 km) of autonomous deployments across three continents. Splash co-founder and CEO Ivan Avanesov said the company was also preparing a larger vessel, called Tempest, for U.S. Navy testing. The Tempest is expected to carry 1,500 pounds (680 kg) and travel 300 nautical miles (556 km).