Singapore Navy deploys MARSEC USVs to enhance maritime security

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has deployed maritime security unmanned surface vessels (MARSEC USVs) to enhance the security of Singapore’s waters.

Designed and developed in close partnership with the Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) and DSO National Laboratories, the new 16.9-meter-long USVs use the latest technologies to enable autonomous operations in congested maritime environments.

The USVs are equipped with autonomous navigation systems, which include an indigenously developed collision detection and collision avoidance (CDCA) algorithm that will enable the unit to navigate through the busy traffic in the Singapore Strait and cope with the constantly changing environmental conditions at sea. 

The CDCA autonomous navigation system integrates the USV’s perception and navigation sensors, as well as collision detection equipment used for typical maritime navigation (such as navigation charts, maritime automatic identification system and differential global positioning systems), with an algorithm designed for the RSN’s operations.

This rules-based system automates the collision avoidance decision-making process while ensuring that the USVs exhibit avoidance behavior that complies with the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, according to the navy. This means that the USV assesses and responds to maritime traffic situations in a predictable manner, similar to that of a manned vessel.

The USV and its CDCA algorithm were ‘extensively’ tested through a comprehensive verification and validation (V&V) approach, which included simulated-based testing and at-sea trials.

Following an extensive development and testing process, the CDCA algorithm completed over 12 million km of simulated distance with zero collisions. The USVs have also clocked over 1000 hours of real-world autonomous operations, with zero need for human intervention.

The RSN plans to continue progressive experimentation to enhance the MARSEC USVs for a wider range of maritime security operations in Singapore.

The USVs operate alongside manned ships such as the RSN’s littoral mission vessels (LMVs).

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