Hemisphere GNSS is pleased to announce that its Vector V103 system is being featured in an unmanned surface vehicle competition called Unmanned Warrior 2016 that has recently begun off the coast of the United Kingdom.

Put on by the UK’s Royal Navy and with the help of approximately 40 other industry and international partners and players, including the US Navy, Unmanned Warrior 2016 is the largest event of its kind, held to safely showcase and experiment state-of-the-art technology in the fields of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs), and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs). Beginning in October, the multinational event will take place off the coasts of West Wales, Northwest Scotland, and the Western Isles.

Through a sale by Saderet Ltd., Hemisphere’s European distributor, a V103, IMO Wheelmarked GPS compass used for high-accuracy heading, positioning, and orientation, was acquired by Portchester-based ASV Ltd. for use on its unmanned vessel.

Called the ‘Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed’ (MAST), the USV’s 32-foot design was based on the Bladerunner hull, giving it increased stability at high speeds. It was not designed to house any weapons but instead for purposes of surveillance and reconnaissance. MAST can operate autonomously and detect other crafts within its proximity and perform necessary evasions safely and effectively. The craft can attain high speeds where high-speed autonomy can be further researched and has several scalable autonomy levels ranging from basic remote control to autonomous navigation.

The MAST USV will partake and compete with the other 40 unmanned crafts in a number of challenging scenarios with warfare-based themes.

Unmanned Warrior 2016 is part of and held conjointly with Joint Warrior 162, one of NATO’s largest fleet naval exercises, held twice yearly in October and April.