ZeroUSV has launched a Teledyne Slocum Ocean Glider from an autonomous Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) for the first time during a demonstration supporting the UK Royal Navy’s Atlantic Bastion programme.
The project aimed to demonstrate how autonomous USVs can act as launch and support platforms for long-endurance underwater systems, reducing the requirement for larger crewed ships during subsea operations.
The launch was conducted from a ZeroUSV Oceanus12 vessel, which served as the autonomous host platform for subsea technology provided by Teledyne Marine.
Atlantic Bastion is part of a wider UK Ministry Of Defence (MOD) effort to explore how autonomous systems can support maritime security tasks, including subsea monitoring and the protection of critical undersea infrastructure. The demonstration involved two Oceanus12 USVs and explored the integration of subsea vehicles and specialist sensors.
“For the first time, the world has seen the launching and operating of an ocean glider from an uncrewed vessel, which opens up new possibilities for persistent subsea monitoring and long-endurance operations at sea,” said Matthew Ratsey, Managing Director and Co-Founder of ZeroUSV.
“This ushers in a new operational model for persistent, distributed ocean data collection, directly relevant to defence Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) missions, as well as commercial and scientific oceanographic applications.”
