The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded Maritime Tactical Systems (MARTAC), a Florida-based developer of modular unmanned surface vessels (USVs), a GBP1.8 million (USD2.4 million) contract to deliver five Man-Portable Tactical Autonomous Systems (MANTAS) T12 USVs to the Royal Navy and Joint Forces Command (JFC, now Strategic Command) for further experimentation.
The contract includes the provision of integrated sensors, spares and ancillary equipment, training, and technical support.
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A MANTAS T12 unmanned surface vehicle seen with a SeaFLIR sensor.
According to the MoD, the MARTAC T12 was selected following a study on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products that would validate the use of low observable USVs for distributed maritime operations. The study – which began in February 2019 and utilised two leased MANTAS T12 USVs – was led by jHUB, the London-based innovation centre for JFC.