The UK just bought a batch of MANTAS T12 unmanned surface vessels from Maritime Tactical Systems (MARTAC, Florida) that are interesting in concept.
More information: https://www.esc.guide/martac
The craft is a very small (12 ft long), unmanned boat that was developed for monitoring tasks. It comes in 4-38 ft versions, has a catamaran style hull and flat upper surface, is battery powered, and is controlled by a line of sight laptop. Operational speed appears to be very slow (several knots? based on video estimate) presumably due to the battery power. The boat’s specifications claim up to 20 kt speed but that is, presumably, a very short time burst as it would quickly deplete the battery. The boats are claimed to be capable of swarm-like, formation sailing with multiple units (no one has yet elucidated a tactically useful swarm behavior but, I digress …). Smaller versions have what appears to be a permanently mounted FLIR turret and the T12 boat has a 140 lb payload capacity. An interesting capability is the ability to semi-submerge for reduced signature.
The UK purchase was $1.8M for 5x twelve foot units ($360,000 each) with 3 units going to the Royal Navy and 2 units going to the UK Joint Forces Command (now Strategic Command). Apparently, in looking for a suitable craft, the UK prioritized low observability and production readiness.
MANTAS T12 Characteristics:
Length: 12 ft
Width: 3ft
Height: 14 in
Draft: 7 in
Craft weight: 210 lbs
Max payload weight: 140 lbs
Burst speed: 40 kts
Cruise speed: 8-20 kts
Cruising range: 60 nm
Ocean capable: sea state 4+
The list of claimed mission applications is vast and patently ludicrous, as most manufacturer claims are.
Beach surveillance
Cargo transport, ship to shore / ship to ship (seriously? how much useful cargo can even the 38 ft version carry?)
HVU escort and interdiction (seriously? how is a tiny, slow boat going to provide effective escort and interdiction for a HVU?)
Search and rescue (search, maybe, over a very limited area, but rescue? – an unmanned boat can’t rescue anyone)
Mine countermeasures (now you’re just pretending!)
Channel bathymetry
Monitoring residential areas
Dock inspection
Harbor/port security
Environmental monitoring
SIGINT / EW (the 1 ft altitude of the antennae suggest a very limited effective range)
The legitimate use for such a boat is simple monitoring as in harbor/port security tasks or examination of dock structures or hull conditions.
In very limited circumstances it might be useful for clandestine ISR.
The obvious problems are that the payloads are small which limits what can be carried and operated. Generally speaking, the larger the payload capacity, the greater the potential usefulness of the vessel. The limitation is exacerbated by the fact that the sensors are just a foot or two above the surface of the water which drastically limits the field of view and range of the sensor. The slow operating speed just makes the other limitations that much worse. Combined slow speed and limited sensor range means surveillance coverage per unit of time is quite limited but if time is not a concern it could work. Unfortunately, in combat, time is always a concern.
Some obvious questions include:
Comm Range – As with any unmanned vehicle, communications is a potential weakness and comm range, in particular, is a concern. The comm range for this boat is unknown but is likely quite limited.
Control Range – The control appears to be line-of-sight. Bear in mind that a vessel this low to the water has a line of sight, given wave action, that may be extremely short. Is there really a benefit to using an unmanned boat when the control vessel has to be almost on top of it? At that point, presumably, the control vessel has bigger, more powerful sensors located much higher and with much greater range.
Data Transmission Security/Stealth – Another unknown is whether the boat’s data is secure and stealthy (low probability of detection and interception). Nothing on the vessel seemed to indicate any kind of advanced, directional comm links. It might be possible to add such gear but then that cuts into the payload.
In summation, this appears to be niche boat suitable for non-combat port/harbor monitoring. Given that, I have to wonder, why the push for unmanned port/harbor monitoring? You still need operators and, without a crew, the boat’s usefulness is limited to purely optical monitoring. It would seem that simply installing more cameras around the port/harbor area would accomplish the same thing. Is this just a desire to be part of the ‘unmanned’ fad?
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