All eyes on Royal Navy’s Type 93 market engagement as industry prepares bids
BAE Systems’ Herne extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle on display. (Photo: BAE Systems)
Responses are due by 29 October as the Royal Navy tests the market, with BAE Systems’ Herne and MSubs’ Excalibur setting up a contest where payloads may decide the winner.
The Royal Navy (RN) opened preliminary market engagement for its Type 93 extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (XLUUV) programme on 12 October, a further sign of the UK’s vision for a “Hybrid Navy” in which uncrewed systems operate alongside crewed ships and submarines.
The notice, published by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), is notable for who it targets. As well as XLUUV platform providers, the RN is seeking input from autonomy developers, artificial intelligence (AI) specialists, mission-management software firms, payload manufacturers, systems integrators and through-life support providers.
The RN asked organisations to aim to submit responses by 17:00 GMT on
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