BAE Systems
Unmanned P24 Rib Vessel
Uncrewed Pacific 24 RIB – Cutting edge integration of a USV into a warship. New Tactics to be explored by the Royal Navy.
The autonomous capabilities of BAE Systems’ Pacific 24 (P24) Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB), a staple in the Royal Navy surface fleet, as an upgraded sea boat is able to execute its own missions without crew and be run from a warship. Such missions could include anti-piracy operations, border control, persistent intelligence gathering, maritime security and force protection, all while keeping a sailor safe from harm.
The autonomous P24 has been procured under the Royal Navy’s autonomy and lethality accelerator programme, Navy X, which aims to deliver new technology into the hands of sailors and marines at pace.
The Combat Management team can dynamically control the uncrewed boat from over 10 miles away, allowing them to quickly react to emerging scenarios.
The Igence specialist development team were able to integrate real time data from the Combat Control Teams system, the Weapons video and control system, with a bespoke Operator interface to control the Weapon. This was achieved using a combination of off the shelf products & toolsets along with bespoke integrations and solutions.
Damian Dixon, Igence’ Principal Engineer on this project, commented that there were: “integration/interfacing challenges with different demands & requirements. But working with the professionals on the BAE Systems and MSI teams, we were able to achieve new and far reaching capabilities, and this was most rewarding”.
BAE Systems’ Chief Technologist, Mike Woods said:” BAE Systems is fortunate to be able to leverage the expertise, products & experience of SMEs such as Igence Software to reduce costs, risk and timescales on technology leading projects like the Uncrewed P24 program. The combination of off-the-shelf products and the availability of expertise makes it easier for BAE Systems to deliver complex, leading-edge systems to our customers”.
The Uncrewed P24 project is a great example of how BAE Systems is helping the UK Ministry of Defence and the Government to engage more effectively with SMEs in their quest to award 25% of new technology defence contracts to small and medium size companies to help maintain the health & integrity of the supply chain.