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UK Royal Navy presence in Gulf to get unmanned boost

2nd April 2019 - 18:18 GMT | by Jack Richardson, Richard Thomas in London

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Not two months on from announcing a programme to introduce a new class of Littoral Strike Ships for the Royal Navy, UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson revealed the Senior Service would again be the beneficiary of a funding spree with the intended introduction of two new unmanned MCM vessels.

The announcement, made by Williamson during a visit to a Qinetiq facility in Portsmouth on 1 April, also saw the launch of the ‘NavyX’ initiative, which aims to bring together industry, the civil service and academia to boost innovation in autonomous technologies. The combined investment will total £75 million ($97.8 million).

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