A Historic First: The Royal Navy Trials an Unmanned Vessel in England

[Article déjà publié le 28 novembre 2024]

In recent times, the military equipment that had been exposed or tested had the main purpose of “making war”. But not all buildings have this goal. Indeed, if technology is used to get ahead of its enemies or competitors, it can also serve more noble goals. This is what is studied with the Apac test (Autonomous Pacific) A Royal Navy boat.

He was a small ship

There is no need to measure a hundred meters and weigh 10,000 tonnes to be an effective military building. Indeed, sometimes a boat the size of a zodiac can sometimes be more useful than a huge ship. This is exactly the case of APAC recently tested in Portsmouth port waters in the south of England.

As the Royal Navy press release explains, the small boat has “Successfully sailed around ferries, other Royal Navy ships and private boats”. A test which therefore happened in good conditions.

Rescue, interception, but not only

L'Apacthe small boat of the Royal Navy aims to be a multi-use ship which takes up the design and the characteristics of the Pacific 24therefore a pneumatic boat from the British army.

Thus, by taking up this iconic model of a Royal Navy boat, the APAC will most certainly carry out the same missions as the Pacific 24 namely:

• Perform rescue missions
• Intercept trafficking ships
• Cutting troops from a boat to the coast

But thanks to the future equipment that will be installed there such as armaments systems and various sensors, APAC could become a surveillance, intelligence and recognition boat used to penetrate enemy lines by pretending to be abandoned for example .

Especially since he could “easily” go unnoticed with his 7.8 meters long.

An autonomous and remotely pilotable boat

During the test which took place on November 25, 2024 in Portsmouth, theAutonomous Pacific was notably controlled remotely from another ship in port waters: the XV Patrick Blackett. However, at present, according to the press release from the English navy, the APAC is a boat which does not benefit from a very large range of action since it must remain relatively close to its ship .

Which is a bit of a shame for a question of discretion for example. However, we can read in the press release that the problem may already have its solution, or at least a start. “” “Currently the APAC can be controlled at short distance from the XV Patrick Blackett, but the sensors of a drone piloted from the ship could extend this range.”Can we read in the press release.

It remains to be seen whether the drone will have a scope deemed sufficient.

And of course, as its name lets it suggest, APAC is a boat which can also act independently in order to allow the less use of human forces to go to territories or hostile areas. Little information is available about the small boat, there is no doubt that as and when conclusive tests, the Royal Navy will share the technical and technological advances of its military buildings.

Source: Royal Navy