The 50m, six-person ship from the Italian shipbuilder carries swappable, containerised payloads instead of a fixed mission, reflecting a shift that is becoming increasingly evident.
HMCS Victoria and HMCS Windsor could return from their current deep maintenance, but unconfirmed operational timelines leave questions over patrol capacity before the first CPSP arrives.
Ares Shipyard CEO says that the first Ulaq USV should be delivered by the end of 2021, and a foreign customer is interested in the anti-submarine warfare variant.
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace first announced the Refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy on 16 March at the Society of Maritime Industries Annual Conference, adding it would include a 30-year pipeline of all government vessels over 150...