First 3D Printed Unmanned Drone Boat In Southern Hemisphere Launched In Australia

Australia has revealed the Southern Hemisphere’s first 3D-printed uncrewed surface vessel (USV), built for defence, surveillance, and maritime security missions.

The 4.6 m drone boat, named ASTRA 460, was developed by Hyperion Systems, Versatile Marine, and Greenroom Robotics.

It will be delivered to a European navy by the end of this year to be a part of a key naval exercise.

“USVs provide strong force-multiplication advantages,” Jacob Kleinman, ASTRA project manager, said.

“They are significantly cheaper to build and operate than traditional crewed vessels, enable persistent maritime presence, and act as force multipliers for manned fleets.”

The vessel’s hull can be built in 40 hours, thanks to large-format additive manufacturing.

The procedure uses recycled polymer waste, which goes into the TitanCell production platform.

Joshua Wigley, Hyperion CEO, said that traditional building methods would have taken 4-6 weeks to finish the hull, but this reduction in production time shows the transformative potential of additive manufacturing for swift maritime capability and industrial growth.

The vessel has autonomous navigation and control software, made using their GAMA platform, offering it considerable advantage in contested environments.

Another benefit is unmanned operations due to the smart onboard system, a top speed of 40 knots, cruising speeds of 20 to 30 knots, and a range of 124 miles.

The vessel was designed to handle the toughest conditions and can carry significant payloads for surveillance, reconnaissance, defense and border security.

It was designed as a multi-role platform and is set to commence trials by the end of this month.

Hyperion’s AI systems and 3D-printing capacity will enable these drone boats to be built in a range of different formats for different kinds of mission needs.

The company plans to build 10 boats in one month and scale to more than 100 eventually.