LONDON - The navies of Britain, Australia and the United States were able to control uncrewed ships in Australia while sitting more than 15,000 kilometres away in Portugal as part of a series of military experiments, the Royal Navy said on Friday.
The so-called Aukus security pact between the three nations, which aims to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region, is helping bring new military technology to the frontline at an “unprecedented” pace, the Royal Navy said.
“The successes experienced, including proving the ability of all three Aukus navies to command-and-control vessels on the other side of the world in a tactically realistic scenario, show how close we are to realising our ambition of a genuine team of crewed and uncrewed systems, capable of operating and prevailing everywhere on the planet, from the seabed to space,” said James Parkin, the navy’s director of development.
The experiments — dubbed “Maritime Big Play” — also tested other uncrewed equipment in mock operational scenarios. This included dropping payloads from a drone, with the ultimate aim of getting uncrewed technology to the frontline quickly.
The tests were part of an exercise staged in Portugal and dubbed REPMUS24, standing for “Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems”.
Aukus nations are planning further experiments later this year, involving about 30 systems in a large-scale demonstration in the Indo-Pacific, the Royal Navy said.
The three nations have been deepening their collaboration this year, including reforms announced in August to remove significant barriers to the trade in defence equipment.
China has called the Aukus pact dangerous and warned it could spur a regional arms race.
A Royal Marines Commando launches a Puma Golden Eagle from a beach in Portugal during the REPMUS24 exercises. (Photo: Royal Navy/Daniel Bladen via Reuters)
The so-called Aukus security pact between the three nations, which aims to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region, is helping bring new military technology to the frontline at an “unprecedented” pace, the Royal Navy said.
“The successes experienced, including proving the ability of all three Aukus navies to command-and-control vessels on the other side of the world in a tactically realistic scenario, show how close we are to realising our ambition of a genuine team of crewed and uncrewed systems, capable of operating and prevailing everywhere on the planet, from the seabed to space,” said James Parkin, the navy’s director of development.
The experiments — dubbed “Maritime Big Play” — also tested other uncrewed equipment in mock operational scenarios. This included dropping payloads from a drone, with the ultimate aim of getting uncrewed technology to the frontline quickly.
The tests were part of an exercise staged in Portugal and dubbed REPMUS24, standing for “Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems”.
Aukus nations are planning further experiments later this year, involving about 30 systems in a large-scale demonstration in the Indo-Pacific, the Royal Navy said.
The three nations have been deepening their collaboration this year, including reforms announced in August to remove significant barriers to the trade in defence equipment.
China has called the Aukus pact dangerous and warned it could spur a regional arms race.
A Royal Marines Commando launches a Puma Golden Eagle from a beach in Portugal during the REPMUS24 exercises. (Photo: Royal Navy/Daniel Bladen via Reuters)
