New South Wales-based maritime company Ocius Bluebottles has secured a contract with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) to provide five locally assembled uncrewed surface vessels (USV) in 2023.
The contract was announced during a Christening ceremony for Ocius’ latest USVs, BARRA and BOMBORA.
RADM Pete Quinn, Head of Navy Capability (HNC), discussed RAN’s efforts to invest in uncrewed platforms to cover vast areas it needs to patrol.
“Over five years as HNC it has been fantastic being involved with Ocius and seeing Australian technology at the forefront. Systems like Ocius Bluebottles are really important to our strategy,” Quinn said.
Robert Dane, Ocius’ chief executive officer, said the contract makes Ocius a Defence Prime; and to be a long-lasting one, it needs two things— innovative products and people.
“Any innovative product will one day not be innovative – it will become the benchmark so Ocius must have continuous innovation of our Bluebottles, iDrogue, Loyal Shipmate and other products and create a culture where our people, University of NSW academics and subcontractors feel the excitement of innovation,” Dane said.
The CEO also noted that over the last 15 months, five Bluebottles under a Defence Innovation Hub contract had completed approximately 23,000 nautical miles at sea, equivalent to an around-the-world journey at the equator.
The christening ceremony was attended by Ocius shareholders and staff, along with RAN, UNSW, and industry partners.
Ocius also welcomed Former Chief of Defence Forces, Chief Air Marshall Mark Binskin’s attendance at the event.
