The Royal Navy is currently testing maritime drones in the UK. During recent three-day trials, the Royal Navy used five Rattler maritime drones developed by Syos Aerospace. They were tested as a "swarm," accompanying two patrol ships in a scenario simulating a russian naval invasion.
According to reports, the Rattler drones were designed and built in just two months, using 7.2-meter RHIBs (rigid-hulled inflatable boats) as their base platform. Moreover, it seems that these inflatable boats were simply equipped with a special set of equipment to convert them into drones. This was reported by Naval News.
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However, the publication states that Syos Aerospace's marine drones already have combat experience. In particular, it refers to the SM300 model. It has a range of over 1,000 km, a payload of up to 300 kg, and costs about $210,000. It is equipped with an 8–16 channel CRPA (Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna) for navigation and a satellite antenna for communications.
The company's CEO also stated that it has produced more than 140 marine drones over the past 12 months but did not specify the models. It is likely that most of them ended up in Ukraine. It should be noted that in the spring, the company received a $40 million contract from the UK to supply unspecified drones to Ukraine.
An incident was reported off the Romanian coast involving a RHIB-based marine drone equipped with a P-15 Termit anti-ship missile, which was believed to belong to Ukraine.
It is likely that the drone seen was an early Syos-made model — or a kit designed to convert inflatable boats into unmanned surface vehicles — sent to Ukraine for testing.
Overall, Syos remains a relatively young company, having been founded four years ago and beginning its work with marine drones two years ago.
Read more: British to Begin Producing a Ukrainian Anti-Aircraft Drones in November: Fast Timelines and a Unique Partnership
