Australia is donating Bluebottle drone vessels to Fiji to aid in its fight against international drug traffickers who use the Pacific island group as a waypoint in transiting shipments of cocaine and other drugs to Australia and New Zealand.
That’s a growing problem, with the Australian Federal Police saying 17 tonnes of illicit drugs, mostly cocaine, has been seized by local and international law enforcement in the Pacific region since January.
For all of 2025, the total seizure of illicit commodities in the Pacific region was about 4.6 tonnes, the AFP said.
Enough of the drugs find their way to Fiji to cause serious problems including a soaring rate of addiction and HIV plus corruption in the country’s law enforcement.
The unspecified number of Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) are being gifted as a component of a $600 million package for the Pacific-led Australian supported Waqa Moana maritime security initiative to counter illicit drug trafficking, ABC reported.
The first are expected to arrive next year.
"Our biggest challenge is our waters are too big, we don't even have eyes on it, let alone have the capability to affect anything on it," said Fiji's Defence Minister Pio Tikoduadua.
He said the Bluebottles would help Fiji capitalise on its limited resources which now comprise two Guardian-class patrol boats, RFNS Savenaca and RFNS Timo, both donated by Australia though the Pacific Patrol Boat Program.
Bluebottle numbers are being deliberately kept vague to "keep drug dealers guessing,” the minister said.
Minister Tikoduadua told ABC that Fijian personnel would control the Bluebottles which would be configured to monitor surface vessels as far away as 30 nautical miles.
Data would be transmitted to human operators at the Vuvale Maritime Essential Services Centre (MESC), an Australian-funded security hub near Fiji's capital Suva. That houses Fijian agencies including the navy, police and fisheries.
With North American and European drug markets well supplied, cartel attention has turned to Australia because of high prices. The United Nations says Australian and New Zealand drug consumers pay some of the highest street prices in the world.
The drug problem doesn’t just relate to Fiji. Drug shipments have been seized off New Caledonia and abandoned drug vessels located in the Solomons.
A report by the Lowy Institute in April said Australia’s demand for methamphetamine and cocaine was reshaping Pacific communities, turning island nations into key transit points on a global drug superhighway, and exposing them to violence, corruption and addiction.
It’s not just drugs bound for Australia and New Zealand. One seized consignment included a number of handguns, valuable and highly desired by Australia’s warring drug gangs.
Bluebottle would appear to be well suited to a counter-narcotics role, detecting drug vessels which can include yachts, fishing boats, freighters and even so-called narco-subs, difficult to detect semi-submersible vessels.
Bluebottle produced by Sydney-based Ocius is a seven-metre wind, solar and wave powered long endurance USV able to perform ocean surveillance, gather oceanographic data and even sense for submarines.
Fifteen have been delivered to the Navy with another 40 planned. These are in operational service, sailing 24/7 from HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin in support of the long running Operation Resolute, Defence’s component of the national border protection mission.
Some have gone to New Zealand which deployed two to Fiji during a four-week joint operation which demonstrated their utility at detecting unauthorised fishing boats.
Bluebottle features a sophisticated sensor suite comprising day/night cameras and radar. The communications suite uses low and high bandwidth satcom.
Ultimately Bluebottles could be equipped with a small flying drone to increase surveillance capability.
Australian Bluebottles will be equipped with a sonar array to detect submarines.