A fleet of uncrewed boats just proved they can operate hundreds of miles from their human controllers, escorting Royal Navy warships in a historic 72-hour trial off Scotland.
Five autonomous Rattler boats acted as protectors for HMS Tyne, moving seamlessly alongside other patrol vessels, Merlin helicopters, and the HMS Stirling Castle warship.
The team controlling the unmanned vessels were stationed aboard the XV Patrick Blackett vessel docked in Southern England, roughly 500 miles (805 kilometers) from the test area, receiving real-time camera and sensor feeds from the boats.
Each Rattler had a two-person crew at the control station: one piloting, the other managing the boat’s onboard systems.
The entire setup ran from a plug-and-play laptop, making it portable and ready for rapid deployment in dynamic operational environments.
“This is a really important moment for the Royal Navy as we progress towards a Hybrid Navy of crewed and uncrewed platforms,” said Michael Hutchinson, Commanding Officer of the Patrick Blacket vessel.
“These platforms will be used alongside and in support of existing and future warships and as a capability in their own right.”
Guarding Without Man
The Rattler is built on a rigid inflatable boat frame packed with autonomy systems so it can function without a crew onboard.
Individually or in groups, the boats can be programmed with preset mission profiles, enabling them to work as a swarm without direct human input.
“It is the first time we have been able to field a capable, mission ready, deployable uncrewed system at sea and it is the first major success for the Disruptive Capabilities and Technology Office (DCTO),” said Royal Navy Chief Technology Officer Jaimie Roylance.
Behind the Tests
The 72-hour exercise capped months of testing by the DCTO, which fielded seven Rattler boats across multiple demonstrations.
From concept to sea trials, the Royal Navy reported a turnaround time of just weeks, rapidly moving the unmanned vessels from design to operational testing.
Built in collaboration with private firms and military specialists, the vessels formally mark the navy’s first procurement of bespoke uncrewed surface platforms.
