The MARTAC T38 Devil Ray unmanned vessel conducts speed and handling exercises with safety personnel on-board during Exercise Autonomous Warrior 2022 in the waters of Jervis Bay Territory.
More information: https://www.esc.guide/martac
As readers of Asia Pacific Defence Reporter are well aware, the Australian Defence Force has made a major commitment to a future force populated by uncrewed air, surface and subsurface systems. To be clear, the ADF does not view these uncrewed systems as completely replacing their manned counterparts. Rather, they are viewed as complementing these systems and performing some of the “dull, dirty and dangerous” work that would put Australian personnel in hazardous environments or situations.
This commitment has been reported in many professional journals, and especially in these pages. Most recently, there were several articles in the May issue of Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter that reported on uncrewed systems, including a comprehensive article entitled: “Remote and Uncrewed Naval Systems.” Most recognise that the Australian Defence Force is a smart buyer, and that it wants to see how uncrewed systems in all domains actually perform before making any major acquisition decisions. That is why the ADF made.
