Robot Patrol Boat to Guard Singapore Waterways

June 4, 2005: The U.S. Navy has developed its Spartan Scout USV (unmanned surface vessel) to the point where a foreign navy (Singapore) has bought several of them. The Spartan Scout is a two ton, 22 foot long, radio controlled boat. It is armed with a .50 caliber machine-gun and a number of sensors (mainly day and night vidcams.)

Singapore will use the Spartan Scout for harbor reconnaissance.



Spartan Scout can stay out for up to 48 hours, depending on how much high speed (it can hit up to 80 kilometers an hour) running is done. It also has a loudspeaker and microphones, so that the operator, who is usually so far away that he can't see the USV) can converse with crewmen on small ships.

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