Kaohsiung-based shipbuilder CSBC Corp, Taiwan on Friday said that its first domestically produced uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) has received approval from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).
CSBC said the ABS issued an Approval in Principle (AIP) to its military-grade USV Endeavor Manta, which was first unveiled on March 25.
The company said it held months of talks with the ABS before securing the approval.
Photo courtesy of the CSBC Corp, Taiwan via CNA
The AIP is a preliminary certification covering a vessel’s design and construction. ABS reviewed the Endeavor Manta’s engineering concepts, technical details, production calculations and risk assessments before granting approval, CSBC said.
The shipbuilder said the AIP confirms the technical feasibility of the USV’s design and supports its continued development, adding that the drone ship’s purpose is to reduce risks to human operators.
The Endeavor Manta is a fiber-reinforced plastic trimaran measuring 8.6m by 3.7m. It has a maximum speed of 35 knots (65kph) and a payload capacity of more than 1 tonne. The trimaran design improves sailing performance, seakeeping and mobility, CSBC said.
The drone ship is equipped with a multi-mode communications system including 4G, radio frequency and satellite links to support remote-control operations. With different modular payloads, it can carry out high-risk maritime tasks such as search and rescue, hardware inspection, data collection, logistics, and environmental surveys.
The USV also has military applications, including artificial intelligence-based targeting, anti-hijacking systems, and autonomous group navigation with collision avoidance, CSBC said.
It can also be fitted with bow-mounted explosives and light torpedoes, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said when the vessel was showcased in March.
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