UK maritime drone launches smaller drones at sea

British company ZeroUSV said it has demonstrated the autonomous deployment of two smaller surface drones from its Oceanus12 uncrewed surface vessel, during trials conducted in Plymouth, England.

The Oceanus12, a 12-meter uncrewed surface vessel, deployed two Oshen C-Star drones during the trial. ZeroUSV described the demonstration as a world first, showing how one autonomous surface vessel can launch multiple smaller marine drones as part of a single coordinated mission.

The trial was part of an ongoing program backed by UK Defence Innovation, led by ZeroUSV alongside partners Oshen and MarineAI.

The C-Star, built by Oshen, is a lightweight surface drone powered by sail and solar energy. For the trial, it was configured to collect acoustic data, though the company says it can also carry sensors for environmental monitoring, defense operations and monitoring of underwater infrastructure.

MarineAI supplied the autonomy software for the demonstration, called Guardian, which the company says allows autonomous platforms to plan and execute missions with minimal operator input while coordinating multiple payloads.

The Oceanus12 was developed as a modular platform intended to carry different payloads and be reconfigured for different missions. Beyond deploying the C-Star drones, the vessel is also designed to track the location, status and performance of those assets after launch, including in environments where communications may be unreliable or jammed.

The next phase of the program will have Oceanus12 deploy four C-Star vehicles at once, according to ZeroUSV.

“This is a significant milestone, not only for ZeroUSV, but for the take up and use of Oceanus USV in theatre,” said Matthew Ratsey, Managing Director of ZeroUSV. “Oceanus12 has been designed as a highly flexible autonomous platform capable of supporting a wide range of mission requirements, and this demonstration proves its ability to rapidly deploy autonomous systems while maintaining a low operational footprint.”

“Autonomous operations are becoming increasingly complex, requiring multiple systems to work together seamlessly,” Ratsey said. “Oceanus12 enables operators to deploy autonomous assets where they are needed, while also providing greater confidence in their location, status and performance in situations where traditional communications may not be available.”

“Having robots launch robots means we can safely, and rapidly, deploy sensing capabilities into tactile locations at short notice, without putting crews in harm’s way,” said Anahita Laverack, CEO of Oshen. “Successfully launching two C-Star vehicles is an exciting milestone, but this is the tip of the iceberg. We’re now looking forward to demonstrating the deployment of 100’s of autonomous systems operating together.”

“Guardian provides the decision-making framework that allows multiple autonomous systems to work together safely and intelligently, enabling Oceanus12 and the C-Star vehicles to operate as a single coordinated mission capability rather than as separate assets,” said Oliver Thompson, Technical Director of MarineAI.