SubSea Craft unveils MARS USV

Image courtesy SSC

Taken from concept to on the water in only 100 days, MARS offers a low-signature, mission-configurable design to maximise autonomy, survivability and operational disruption in contested environments.

Its launch comes at a time of growing international demand for USV capabilities – something SSC has sought to respond to at pace to address the evolving requirements of the UK and its allies in distributed maritime operations.

MARS encompasses the latest innovations in USV technology, with multi-role applications for a variety of force objectives including:

• Wingman support to minimise risk to manned deployments and provide a force multiplying effect at the vanguard of the fleet.
• Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities including long-range surveillance to increase the recognised maritime picture in environments with degraded communications.
• Multidomain payloads and modular integration, allowing for both kinetic and non-kinetic effects on target. This includes the integration of Anduril’s ALTIUS.

Following its manufacture in the UK, MARS has undergone extensive testing and validation with AUKUS partners, including open water tests with the Australian Maritime College – which signed an R&D partnership with SSC in 2023.

The company has a growing series of multidomain platforms offering high configurability, autonomy and ease of maintenance and MARS is a continuation of this, using the same open architecture digital control system as SSC’s dual-domain craft, VICTA.

Camilla Martin, CEO of SubSea Craft, said: “There is a clear global need for the responsive development of advanced maritime platforms that can meet evolving force requirements and objectives.

“At SubSea Craft we are proud to be representing the UK on the international stage in creating scalable technologies. These can be built and serviced in-country to boost both domestic maritime capabilities and the agility of our allies.

“The development of MARS represents another milestone on our international journey. Having been developed in the UK, tested in Australia and the US, we have been able to showcase our ongoing dedication to AUKUS objectives of interoperability and technological synergy between nations.”

Penny Mordaunt, Chair of SubSea Craft and Former UK Secretary of State for Defence, said: “MARS has emerged as a disruptive force for the modern battlespace. Its successful testing following an impressive turnaround from its ideation is testament to SubSea Craft’s cutting-edge approach to accelerated research, development and delivery.”