US provider of fully autonomous unmanned surface vessels (USVs) Maritime Tactical Systems (MARTAC), has delivered two Devil Ray T38 USVs to the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC).
The Devil Ray T38, MARTAC’s flagship USV, is an 11-meter catamaran capable of burst speeds exceeding 60+ knots and carrying payloads of up to 1,814 kilograms. Its open and flexible architecture supports a wide range of mission sets, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic warfare, mine countermeasures and logistics support, according to MARTAC.
The vessels are expected to support the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) autonomous maritime capabilities. The event builds on the successful fielding of five MARTAC platforms, one Devil Ray T38 and four all-electric MANTAS T12 vessels, delivered in mid-2024.
This growing fleet will provide the AFP with a combination of speed, endurance and operational flexibility to address complex maritime security challenges across the nation’s expansive 7,000-island archipelago, MARTAC noted.
“We are honored to stand alongside the Armed Forces of the Philippines as they lead the Indo- Pacific region in fielding autonomous marsupial USV capabilities,” said Tony Smeraglinolo, CEO of MARTAC.
“The Philippines is one of America’s most valued and important allies in the region, and their commitment to integrating these advanced unmanned systems demonstrates extraordinary vision and operational leadership. MARTAC’s advanced USVs are providing the AFP with operationally proven autonomous solutions at a fraction of the cost of manned systems.”
The delivery coincided with the opening of MARTAC’s Unmanned Center of Excellence (CoE), which will provide comprehensive maintenance, sustainment, and training programs for its Philippine customers.
To sustain high system availability and enable rapid PMC deployment of Devil Ray T38s, the CoE will serve as a local hub for MARTAC to provide expert training to PMC personnel, perform system maintenance and stock spare parts. The CoE will also enable creation of local jobs and partnerships to build Philippines capabilities for deploying a large USV fleet over the next several years.