Royal Navy: Autonomous surface vessel trials to take place near Portsmouth Harbour and Hayling Bay - when

King’s Harbour Master (KHM) Portsmouth issued a notice stating there will be Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV) trials until February 28, which started yesterday (January 6). These tests will take place in the Hayling Bay and Ryde Middle shipping areas.

“ASV operations will be conducted by the ASV PD007,” KHM Portsmouth said. “PD007 is a 7.5 metre grey coloured vessel and has a maximum speed of 38kts. PD007 will be accompanied by Valkyrie 6 or Valkyrie 8 and SB850i or similar charter RIB which will act as safety vessels. The trial staff operators will be embarked on a support vessel and will intervene in the event of any safety issues. PD007 may have a bright blue dummy weapon visible on its bow during trials, which will be covered when not required.”

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These daily trials will take place between 9am and 4pm. “PD007 will only be operated in remote/autonomous mode when in the trials area,” KHM Portsmouth added. “Where possible, PD007 will maintain a minimum 200-metre separation from other craft, and trial runs will be modified or aborted if a close-quarters situation is developing.”

Tests like these are fairly uncommon given the Royal Navy’s push to see how they can use un-crewed vessels and other assets during their operations. Similar trials were conducted in November, which involved XV Patrick Blackett - an experimental ships used by the force as a hub for new technologies. These include quantum navigation, as well as un-crewed underwater vehicles and surface vessels.

Last year’s operation was the first time where a fully autonomous and crewless boat was tested in UK waters. Commander Michael Hutchinson, Commanding Officer of XV Patrick Blackett and part of the NavyX team, previously said: “It forms the backbone for further integration that future ships will have with autonomous technology. The trials and experiments we do will develop the Standard Operating Procedures for the APAC and how to use un-crewed systems effectively for warfighting.”