SEA-KIT International’s latest uncrewed surface vessel (USV) has commenced sea trials in the UK ahead of delivery to the U.S. autonomous maritime solutions provider ThayerMahan.
This latest USV, X107T – the seventh X-class to leave SEA-KIT’s production facility in the East of England, includes a new winch system, developed to integrate with the company’s proprietary G-SAVI virtual helm station, expected to enable deployment of large, towed arrays and sensors down to 3,000 meters.
The vessel is currently undergoing sea trials in the UK before being shipped to the U.S. to commence operations stateside later this summer.
ThayerMahan plans to use the USV to support the introduction of the technology into government service, as well as for its own activities in U.S. and international waters.
“The flexible payload on SEA-KIT’s USV design, coupled with its ability to operate near silently for long periods of time, will enable us to continue our leadership stance in remote and autonomous mobile acoustic sensing and sense-making,” said Mike Connor , President and CEO of ThayerMahan.
“By improving maritime domain awareness efficiencies with this vessel, we ultimately keep people safe while protecting critical infrastructure and the ocean environment.”
In terms of other company-related news, it is worth noting that in October 2022 SEA-KIT put into operation its new production facility for the XL-Class USV, which tripled the company’s production capacity and expanded its R&D area.
The UK-based company also last year revealed a new USV design said to be the next step towards its goal of zero-emission vessels.