Ocius Bluebottle: Formidable maritime drones powered by renewable energy to enter service with the Navy

Australia will soon deploy dozens of locally made surveillance drones that operate on the ocean surface powered by renewable energy, and could eventually be armed with lethal payloads.

Defence Industry Minster Pat Conroy has announced the government will acquire 40 more Ocius Bluebottle unmanned surface vessels (USVs), bringing the Royal Australian Navy’s fleet to 55, under a $126 million contract.

“The Ocius Bluebottle is a formidable asset. It’s designed to provide near persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) for Australia. We have a number already deployed in the northwest of Australia,” Mr Conroy said.

Speaking outside Defence Headquarters in Canberra, Mr Conroy said the Bluebottle’s ability to use solar and wave power gives them a “near persistent presence”, while being very hard to spot, and deployable for “extreme lengths of time”.

There are three sizes of Bluebottle, ranging from 5.6 to 7.4 metres in length and displacements of between 650 and 800 kg, and payloads of between 300 and 600 kg.

The platform, can also deploy thin line towed away sonars, meaning it can provide constant surveillance not just on the ocean surface and in the air, but also below the surface.

Navy Chief Vice Admiral Mark Hammond said that the patrol speeds for the Bluebottle varied depending on their mission, but could travel up to six knots per hour, and revealed several options for weapons were being examined.

“You won’t be surprised that I do not want to disclose what they are. Now we have done concept demonstrators, though, for teaming with uncrewed air vehicles, which again extends the horizon from an ISR perspective,” Admiral Hammond explained.

“This gives a significant advantage when it comes to surveilling those extremely large areas. It’s also very durable. These things have remained on station as the cyclones have rolled through, and they’ve remained operational.”

Since July 2024, Ocius has operated its Bluebottle vessels 24/7 from a facility on base at HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin supporting border protection efforts known as Operation Resolute.

In September last year the Albanese Government awarded a $1.7 billion contract to US owned company Anduril, founded by pro-Trump tech billionaire Palmer Luckey, to produce an unspecified number of stealthy, long-range and autonomous vehicles known as Ghost Sharks.

Mr Conroy said the Government now wants to see “a hybrid Navy that is a mix of exquisite crewed platforms, providing real mass through uncrewed platforms, whether it’s Ghost Sharks, Bluebottles or other options”.

CEO of Ocius Technology Robert Dane said the Bluebottle was an exquisite renewable energy powered drone, and the latest contract with the federal government would generate another 50 jobs for the business.

“It has no crew, it has no fuel, and it has no supplies, so it can stay out at sea for months at a time, and it’s very quiet. So, it’s ideal for acoustic surveillance — the Navy would call this a force multiplier.”

“These blue bottles, acting in concert with other crewed and uncrewed assets, can give information to captains and admirals that they wouldn’t otherwise have,” Mr Dane added.

Over recent months defence industry figures have told The Nightly of numerous teething problems with the advanced Anduril technology, but the government insists concerns raised during sea trials of the Ghost Shark have now been addressed.