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News | 18-07-2024 | 09:33
Since yesterday, the Royal Netherlands Navy has been extensively testing its first sailing drone.Unmanned surface vessel The 90 is a nine-meter-long drone that can be deployed over water. This allows it to transport cargo and personnel, as well as conduct reconnaissance. The Mining Service will use it.
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The USV90 functions like a water taxi. The vessel can be used to transport other small (underwater) drones from a mother ship to areas where mines and explosives are laid. Think, for example, of bombs from World War II. These other drones can identify and defuse the explosives. This way, the mother ship’s crew remains at a safe distance.
The sailing drone is a training and testing platform that will be extensively tested and tested by the mine service over the next year. This will initially take place with the crew on board. The USV90 will then be remotely operated and deployed unmanned. In the long term, it will even have to sail and navigate autonomously.
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Mine Countermeasures Capability Replacement Project
Under the Mine Countermeasures Capability Replacement Project, various types of UAVs are being developed, tested and delivered. The knowledge and experience gained with the USV90 will be fed back into the project. This is to improve the next generation of flying UAVs. The project is being implemented jointly with Belgium under the leadership of the Belgian government.
Sea Ray
The threat of sea mines still exists. For example, they are relatively cheap and easy to produce explosives to block harbors. In addition, the seabed is still full of projectiles from World War II. It is estimated that there are still tens of thousands of mines and bombs in the North Sea alone. They still pose a danger. Several fishermen have even been killed because of explosives hidden in their nets.
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