There's military plans to expand the use of uncrewed vessels around New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific to fight the rapidly increasing drug trade flooding the region along with other major security risks.
In the last 24 months New Zealand's two uncrewed surface vessels (USV's) Tahi and Rua have identified 150 suspicious vessels and referred them to Customs for action.
The two USV's have just returned from spending four weeks on deployment in Fiji, requested by the Government there. Using its high-tech surveillance Tahi and Rua watched 137 vessels showing the Fiji military patterns of behaviour and a clear understanding of activity in the region.
Lemeki Lenoa, director of the Fiji Maritime Essential Services Centre, said the deployment of New Zealand's USV's was a clear example of the two countries working hand-in-hand.
"The trafficking of drugs through and into Fiji causes irreparable harm for our people," he said.
"The South Pacific is a collective responsibility and so we need to work very closely with our like minded partners in addressing our common shared challenges".
Australia has committed a USV to Fiji with more on the cards. Built and designed by Australian company Ocius Technology the USV Bluebottles are ideal in the Pacific as they are powered by wave, solar and wind energy and can remain at sea for months at a time in the roughest of conditions.
Lemeki Lenoa says not only do the USV's help with the issue of not having to find crew but it allows Fiji to address the fuel crisis given they are completely green powered.
"We can deploy them into areas to help understand what is happening in our maritime domain and that helps us - Navy, Customs, Fisheries, Police - develop capabilities and capacity to better respond to threats," he explained.
Australia was expanding its Bluebottle fleet adding a further 40 to its current fleet of 15. Ocius Technology's chief executive Robert Dane said once his company has delivered the total of 55 "makes it the largest fleet of uncrewed surface vessels in the world".
His company has just opened an advance maritime facility in Auckland to provide maintenance and technical support for New Zealand's Bluebottles Tahi and Rua.
"The drug trade from South America, illegal fishing and then incursions by foreign navies into our economic zones, these are all things we should know about and you can imagine that what the Bluebottle is is like a fire alarm and it cues the first responders," Dane said.
Its new Auckland facility would provide Ocius a strategically located base in the Pacific as demand for its maritime surveillance continued to grow.
Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding said the new Ocius maintenance facility "will also help local knowledge and the technical expertise to support the operation".
He said as technology evolved it was important the navy remained informed, adaptable and open to new approaches. One of those new approaches was to involve drones.
"We have a desire to build on our positive experience with Bluebottle with a range of uncrewed systems...an example of this is a trial we intend to conduct with SYOS airspace to operate and intercept the craft alongside Bluebottle capability".
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