Piranha USV Drone Boat

[Dan F]

I saw this boat at the coast (Port of Garibaldi) when I was crabbing Sunday.

It is a Piranha USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicle). The hull is made of nano-tube reinforced carbon fiber, the 54' boat weighs only 9,000 pounds! It can be steered by satellite link and has ten times the range of a similarly sized traditionally built boat.

I saw it in action and it accelerates very fast and quiet, just a sort of "whooshing" sound as it takes off (muffled turbine?).

Anyways, it was pretty cool and I thought I would share.

 

[TheRealAndyCook]

I really like U __ V's

 

[Specialk314]

wow! that thing is sweet looking! any idea what it's used for? intelligence? armed with torpedoes?

 

[Dan F]

wow! that thing is sweet looking! any idea what it's used for? intelligence? armed with torpedoes?

I think it is still in the developmental stage, but I believe it is meant for reconnaissance and intercept. I read they have a variety of weapons systems it can handle - machine guns, torpedos, missiles.

 

[Specialk314]

I think it is still in the developmental stage, but I believe it is meant for reconnaissance and intercept. I read they have a variety of weapons systems it can handle - machine guns, torpedos, missiles.

SWEET! that thing is too cool!

 

[krichardson]

It looks similar to the boat that they tore up on WhaleWars.

 

[Dan F]

It looks similar to the boat that they tore up on WhaleWars.

Yes it does. I am thinking that the USV may be designed as a wave piercer as well.

The funny thing is, I have also seen the Earthrace ship in person. They came to Portland several years ago (prior to the record attempt) and I went up to check it out. The last photo is of myself with the infamous Pete Bethune and his first mate. Things were pretty slow, so I sat and talked with them for a good bit of time. I also got to go on board and check out the interior. It was very cool.

 

[krichardson]

That's cool,is there much space inside of the boat?

 

[Dan F]

That's cool,is there much space inside of the boat?

No, it was pretty cramped. Here are some interior shots. Sorry about the quality, I was rocking 1 megapixel back then!

 

[Ash]

That looks pretty cool, it was in auction?? I want it lol. If its unmanned in its design I wonder if they still designed it so someone could get in it if needed.