The Australian ministry of defense announced today it is acquiring a fleet of 40 Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessels (USV) to enhance the Royal Australian Navy’s undersea warfare capabilities.
Australian MoD press release
The Albanese Government will strengthen Australia’s maritime security with a $176 million investment to deliver 40 new Australian-designed and built Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessels (USV) – one of the world’s largest sovereign USV fleets.
Announced today, the contract with Ocius Technology expands Navy’s operational fleet to 55 Bluebottles, significantly boosting long-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability across Australia’s vast maritime domain.
This investment will create 50 jobs at Ocius’ new advanced manufacturing facility in Sydney, supported by a second production site in the NSW Hunter region and an extensive Australian supply chain. Further opportunities for small and medium Australian businesses will be generated as production scales.
The Bluebottle, developed in partnership with Navy and initially funded through the Defence Innovation Hub, is a long-endurance USV powered by solar, wind and wave energy. It provides persistent surface and sub-surface surveillance, can carry payloads and operates as part of a teamed, integrated maritime force.
Increasing Bluebottle capability delivers a sovereign, persistent and scalable capability, supporting a key priority identified in the Albanese Government’s National Defence Strategy.
“The Bluebottle is an innovative platform designed, developed and manufactured right here in Australia. This is an excellent example of Defence and industry working together to deliver cutting-edge capability.
“The Albanese Government’s investment in Ocius Technology and their Bluebottle USV has accelerated the delivery of the autonomous systems for Navy.
“Over the next five years and beyond, Bluebottle will monitor Australia’s maritime approaches and strengthen Defence’s ability to protect our national security interests.”Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Richard Marles MP
“With this investment the Albanese Government is backing Aussie ingenuity while creating highly skilled, well-paid jobs for locals. We are investing right now to uplift our sovereign defence industry.
“With this world-leading technology, we are able to increase surveillance of Australia’s northern approaches and respond to increasing maritime threats.
“Accelerated development of autonomous capabilities will be fundamental as we navigate this new era of global uncertainty.”Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Pat Conroy MP
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Naval News comments:
The type of sonar suite / towed acoustic array is not disclosed but Thales Australia’s BlueSentry appear as a likely candidate.
Thales Australia and Ocius Technologies have entered a Teaming Agreement back in 2022 to advance the development and deployment of a scalable Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) capability equipped for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and surveillance missions.
This capability was demonstrated during Autonomous Warrior 2023: “In one part of the exercise the Bluebottles, equipped with Thales Australia’s Blue Sentry thin-line towed array sonars, worked with USVDIV-1 vessels to track and isolate a Saab AUV62 submarine simulator” as Ben Felton reported at the time.
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