Ocius Technology has christened the first Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessel (USV) hull to be delivered under the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) $176 million Bluebottle Program of Record which was announced in March.
"We are proud to be christening the first Bluebottle hull to be delivered under the Navy's $176 million Program of Record. Its success has been made possible through the strength of Australian industry and partnerships with companies like Van Munster Boats," Ocius Technology, Found and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Dane, stated.
“From the very beginning, our vision was to build a world-class uncrewed maritime capability right here in Australia. The Bluebottle highlights the incredible innovation and expertise that exists across our local industry to meet current and future challenges.”
Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, officially christened the hull at Van Munster Boats' manufacturing facility in the NSW Hunter region, where the hulls for the Bluebottle fleet are being produced.
"Australia leads the world in autonomous maritime vessels. This contract will deploy the largest fleet of autonomous maritime vessels in the world here in Australia, built by Australians and making Australia safer. We’ve moved at speed over the last couple of years to deliver this," Minister Conroy highlighted.
This hull, which forms part of Bluebottle BB 716, is the first to be manufactured under the five-year Program of Record. The expanded fleet of Australian-designed and built Bluebottle USVs will enhance Defence’s capabilities by providing a fleet of USVs to detect and monitor undersea threats across Australia's vast maritime domain.
"The christening of this hull is an important milestone that reflects years of innovation and collaboration, demonstrating the strength of Australian industry working together to deliver advanced capability for the Royal Australian Navy. We are proud to integrate our highly specialised manufacturing capabilities and skilled craftsmanship, based in regional Australia, to contribute to a world-class platform," Van Munster Boats, Founder, Brett Van Munster, affirmed.
"Our partnership with Ocius has driven significant growth across our business, including the expansion of our facilities, skilled workforce and manufacturing capability. This investment from the Australian Government will help support continued innovation and further scale our capacity in the Hunter Region.”
The Australian Government already owns 15 Registered Vessel Bluebottle USVs supporting the Australian Border Force (ABF) to provide 24/7 persistent maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations for surface threat detection.
The production of the new fleet of Bluebottles in on track, supporting the growth of Australia's sovereign autonomous maritime capability and highlighting the strength of Australian industry in delivering advanced defence technologies.
Bluebottle is an Australian-developed USV powered by solar, wind and wave energy, enabling long-endurance operations while maintaining an acoustically quiet environment for superior underwater surveillance, Ocius claims.
The platform's patented renewable energy and winch-in-keel technologies provide a persistent, low-observable ISR capable of operating across Australia's vast maritime approaches, the company believes.