Royal Navy UK-based XLUUV controlled from Jervis Bay

The Royal Navy says it has successfully tested the ability to communicate with Experimental Vessel (XV) Excalibur, its Extra Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV), while submerged on the other side of the world at Jervis Bay, NSW. This is the first time UK and Australia, as part of AUKUS Pillar II, have demonstrated XLUUV interchangeability as a single fighting force.

Unveiled earlier this year, the 12m long and totally crewless Excalibur is the navy’s first XLUUV and is the culmination of the three-year Project Cetus. The RAN is also experimenting with and developing two Large and Extra Large Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, the C2 Robotics Speartooth and the Anduril Australia Ghost Shark. The RAN has said very little about these submersibles and their roles.

As part of AUKUS Pillar II’s Maritime Big Play series, the control of a UK XLUUV in UK waters was executed during EX Talisman Sabre in July from a remote operating centre in Australia – more than 10,000 miles from Excalibur’s home in Plymouth. EX Maritime Big Play is a series of integrated experiments and exercises that enhance capability development and improve interoperability between partners.

“The XLUUV exercise was a big step forward in our ability to operate uncrewed systems interchangeably with Australia,” said Commodore Marcus Rose, RN, Deputy Director Underwater Battlespace.

The three AUKUS partners are also currently working on the AUKUS Maritime Innovation Challenge which focusses on undersea communication for coordination and the control of Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), among other things

In addition to the XL UUV experimentation delivered by Australia, the United Kingdom and United States, AUKUS nations also separately worked with Japan in this exercise to enhance their use of underwater acoustic communications.

Building on the successful first year of the series in 2024, AUKUS Pillar II partners have conducted several demonstrations, focused on advancing how they collectively communicate with and employ, robotics and autonomous systems at sea.