Ocius completes Bluebottle deliveries to Royal Australian Navy

Ocius Technologies' Bluebottle USV operates in the waters of Jervis Bay during Exercise ‘Autonomous Warrior 2022' at HMAS Creswell in the Australian Capital Territory. On 9 June the Australian DoD announced that Ocius has completed the delivery of the fifth and final Bluebottle USV to the RAN. (Commonwealth of Australia)

Ocius Technologies has completed the delivery of all Bluebottle unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) under a AUD4.9 million (USD3.3 million) contract secured in November 2022.

The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 9 June that the RAN has received its fifth and final Bluebottle USV from Ocius. “Powered by the wind, waves, and the sun, the Bluebottle can cover long distances, undertake a variety of missions, and stay at sea for extended periods,” the DoD said.

The Bluebottle USVs are expected to strengthen the RAN's intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and facilitate the testing of new unmanned maritime technologies.

Ocius Technologies offers two variants of the Bluebottle USV – Bruce and Beth. Both variants have the same design, but Beth is larger in dimension and provides a higher full load displacement in water.

Since the Bluebottle USVs delivered to the RAN are 22 ft long, it is likely that they are the Beth variant. The Bruce variant is about 18 ft long.

According to Janes Unmanned Maritime Vehicles , the Beth has a top speed of 6.5 kt, has a full load displacement of 800 kg, and can carry 350 kg in dry payload bay.