German defence company STARK, which has an R&D centre in Ukraine, has unveiled the Vanta 12—an autonomous uncrewed surface vessel (USV) for reconnaissance, surveillance and countering threats at sea. The company announced this in a press release.
According to STARK, the Vanta 12 is 12 metres long, can reach speeds of up to 40 knots (74 km/h) and travel up to 1,200 nautical miles (2,222 km). The USV can carry up to 2 tonnes of payload and remain at sea continuously for several weeks.
The platform combines autonomous navigation, artificial intelligence-based systems and a modular architecture. Depending on the mission, the USV can be fitted with various sensors and electronic warfare equipment, the developers say.
The company says it has already integrated 10 in-house Cascade loitering munitions developed by STARK onto the platform and carried out their launches. In addition, the Vanta 12 has been equipped with four Sea Venom guided anti-ship missiles made by MBDA, which are already in service with NATO forces.
As a result, STARK says, the uncrewed boat can conduct reconnaissance, patrol waters and track potential threats, as well as employ strike capabilities.
The Vanta 12’s capabilities have already been demonstrated during REPMUS—NATO exercises involving robotic and uncrewed maritime systems, held in Portugal from 31 August to 25 September. The boat successfully carried out a number of mission scenarios in cooperation with crewed and uncrewed platforms.
To scale up production of the Vanta family, STARK is working with Germany’s Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG). The partners plan to expand the industrial base for producing the platforms in Germany and other European countries.
STARK is a European defence technology company that develops and manufactures unmanned systems for air and maritime operations, as well as software to manage them. The company operates in Germany, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Greece and Sweden. Its developments include the Virtus, Gambit and Cascade loitering munitions, the Vanta family of uncrewed surface vehicles and the Minerva command-and-control platform.
It is worth noting that Ukraine already has one of the world’s most advanced areas for developing and employing combat uncrewed boats. Ukrainian USVs are used not only to strike ships, but also for reconnaissance, patrols, engaging aerial targets and launching other drones. A telling example of this technology’s development is the Magura line of drones: from the strike-capable V5, which hit several dozen Russian warships, to the MV11, into which Ukrainian Sting UAVs made by Wild Hornets have been integrated.