A transoceanic Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) from Exail, the new DriX O-16, has been launched and tested in successful sea trials before being displayed for high-profile customers and partners the same week.
The DriX O-16, at five times the displacement and twice the length of the legacy DriX H-8, is the latest in Exail’s USV product line and is designed for long-duration missions of up to 30 days.
It can deploy multiple payloads and subsea assets, and benefits from an autonomy of 3,500 nm. The new USV’s larger size allows for a wide range of payloads, including Sub-Bottom Profilers (SBP), Multibeam Echosounders (MBES), and acoustic subsea positioning and communication systems (USBL).
In addition to this, the USV features a launch and recovery system to deploy Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), Remotely Operated Towed Vehicles (ROTVs), and inspection-class Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs).
The DriX O-16 is especially well suited for full ocean depth scientific and hydrographic surveys, geophysical and UXO surveys, and subsea infrastructure inspections, which could require the deployment of multiple robots.
The new transoceanic USV was first put to sea on Wednesday, May 29th in its home port of La Ciotat (South of France). After undergoing a first series of sea trials within the next couple of days, it was showcased in action to selected partners and customers on Wednesday, June 5th.
Sébastien Grall, Director, Maritime Autonomy Solutions at Exail, said; “We are very proud to have demonstrated to our clients, in such a short time, our capacity to deliver a new fully functional USV that meets the demand for larger capacity, endurance, and multi-mission capabilities, while maintaining high reliability and efficiency at sea.
“We are convinced that platforms such as DriX O-16 will support the marine industry’s transition to more reliable and efficient autonomous operations.”
