Indian marine automation specialist Accurate Industrial Controls is set to begin converting three patrol boats to unmanned surface vessels (USVs) as part of a six-vessel deal with the Indian Navy.
As informed, the company is preparing to convert three Indian Navy patrol boats into unmanned surface vessels (USVs) at Mumbai’s Naval Dockyard after completing a feasibility assessment of the vessels.
The three boats comprise a 13-meter fast interceptor craft (FIC) used for coastal reconnaissance and two 23-meter immediate support vessels (ISVs). The ISVs operate alongside frigates and other larger naval vessels in open waters and have a range of 400 nautical miles.
The vessels are part of a six-vessel deal signed between Accurate and the Indian Navy in 2022. Under the long-term contract, Accurate completed an Autonomy Stack development program that included five audited milestones.
As part of the development effort, the company built two test USVs: a 13-meter interceptor craft and a 5-meter search-and-rescue (SAR) workboat. The vessels completed 2,500 hours of sea and river trials with the Indian Navy.
The program culminated in class certification for Accurate’s Intelligent Situational Awareness and Collision Avoidance (ISACA) technology stack. Following the trials, the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) certified the system to IRS AUTN 4-R(N), in accordance with the International Maritime Organization’s International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs).
Accurate Director of AI & Robotics Dharmesh Popatlal Gala credited the Indian Navy and IRS with supporting the development program, noting that the Navy provided a framework for development and facilitated trials in controlled waters.
All six vessels covered by the deal will receive the full ISACA system, which includes radar, inertial navigation system (INS) and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors, remote command and control, and 360-degree situational awareness.
According to Accurate, the system is designed to enable autonomous operation without continuous crew presence and uses edge computing rather than cloud-based processing. The company said this architecture allows data processing onboard the vessel without relying on an internet connection.
The conversion of the Indian Navy vessels will expand the use of Accurate’s autonomy technology from test platforms to operational patrol boats, following the completion of the company’s development and certification program.