AUSTAL Australia has taken possession of the former patrol boat HMAS Maitland to use in autonomy trials.
Having been re-named Sentinel, the decommissioned Maitland will be the subject of trials involving planning, modification, testing and evaluation of autonomous and remotely operated systems.
The Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT) is a collaboration between Austal, the Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre and the Warfare Innovation Navy Branch of the Royal Australian Navy.
The trial plans to establish robotic, automated and autonomous elements on a patrol boat, providing a proof-of-concept demonstrator for optionally crewed or autonomous operations for the RAN.
It will also explore the legal, regulatory pathways and requirements of operating an autonomous vessel at sea.
One of the aims of the PBAT project is to investigate the operation of shipboard mechanical systems without crew intervention, including systems of redundancy and reliability to support operations at sea for extended periods.
The project also aims to transfer lessons learned from the application of remote or autonomous systems to the RAN’s current fleet to optimise crew workload.
Austal noted remote and autonomous operation has the potential to reduce crew workload and increase operational safety by reducing human error.
Austal CEO Paddy Gregg said the future of Australia’s maritime capability will depend partially on how quickly its naval enterprise can better understand and integrate autonomous and remotely operated vessels.
“Austal are pleased to be at the heart of Australia’s autonomous naval journey, working with our industry partners, Navy and the Commonwealth, to complete the modification and trials, and share this data to improve the wider knowledge base,” he said.
“Our expert staff are excited to be working to learn more about the challenges and opportunities in this autonomous and robotic space.
“Austal always strive to improve our designs and build ships that outsmart Australia’s adversaries, delivering capability into the hands of the Australian Defence Force to improve their ability to fight and win at sea.”
Following the arrival of the vessel in Henderson, Western Australia, Sentinel entered the trial’s modification phase, which includes the fitting of a variety of monitoring and control systems and technologies that enables autonomous and remote operations.
From July 2023 the vessel is expected to be registered under Australian Maritime Safety Authority jurisdiction as a domestic commercial vessel to enable sea trials to commence October 2023.
