Dutch Royal IHC and Demcon Unmanned Systems have entered into a strategic partnership for the deployment of unmanned and autonomous vessels for scalable autonomous maritime operations.
The partnership has started with the development and integration of containerized launch and recovery systems (LARS) for uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).
“This Dutch collaboration is an important step towards the future for us, allowing us to make optimal use of each other’s competencies. Starting with LARS solutions for our USV portfolio is a logical first step, as it enables us to deploy our vessels more efficiently and on a larger scale,” said Fedor Ester , Managing Director and Co-Founder of Demcon Unmanned Systems.
“This makes it possible to deploy unmanned vessels quickly and safely from workboats, pontoons and other equipment. This increases deployability and opens up new areas of application, which will further accelerate the adoption of these innovations and increase their added value.”
Royal IHC contributes its expertise as a high-tech system integrator and shipbuilder for complex and automated work vessels, while Demcon adds its innovative technologies and experience in the field of remote control and autonomous unmanned vessels, the partners said.
Derk te Bokkel , CEO of Royal IHC, said: “This is a natural fit: our vision is shared, our technologies plug in seamlessly, and our markets amplify each other. Together we can move maritime autonomy from promising pilots to industrial scale.”