From Delivery to Deployment: Building Australia’s Autonomous MCM Capability
Following the successful delivery of the first REMUS 300 systems earlier this year, BlueZone Group is continuing to build Australia’s autonomous Mine Countermeasure capability, bringing together advanced platforms, sensors, software and sovereign technical expertise.
Earlier this year, BlueZone Group, working alongside HII Mission Systems, Kraken Robotics and SeeByte, completed the first delivery and acceptance of an integrated REMUS 300 capability in Australia. That milestone demonstrated how the REMUS 300 UUV, Kraken’s Man Portable Synthetic Aperture Sonar (MP-SAS), Voyis R300 Colour Camera and SeeByte’s SeeTrack and Neptune software operate together as an integrated solution for autonomous underwater operations.
Putting REMUS Through Its Paces
Over the recent months, the BlueZone team has completed on/ off water testing and delivered the additional 4 systems.
A key part of these activities has been conducting survey operations using Kraken Robotics’ MP-SAS alongside SeeByte’s SeeTrack mission planning and autonomous vehicle management tools. Working as an integrated system, these technologies provide high-resolution seabed imagery, enhanced situational awareness and greater mission efficiency.
This latest activity builds on the approach established during the initial delivery, further strengthening BlueZone Group’s understanding of REMUS’ operational capability and the familiarity with the system. Greater exposure to the platform, supported by close engagement with HII Mission Systems, provides BlueZone’s technical team with deeper knowledge that can be applied across maintenance, servicing and operational support.
Optimising the Integrated Mission System
With the core integration demonstrated during the initial Set-To-Work, the latest activity shifts the focus toward operational efficiency: how REMUS, Kraken MP-SAS, Voyis R300 Colour Camera and SeeByte software can work together as a repeatable, integrated mission system rather than as individual technologies.
At the centre of this approach is the ability to connect platform, sensor and software across the mission workflow. REMUS provides the autonomous vehicle platform, while Kraken SAS and Voyis R300 Colour Camera deliver the high-resolution sonar data and imagery required to support detailed seabed understanding. SeeByte’s software layer brings these capabilities together, with SeeTrack supporting mission planning, monitoring and post-mission data analysis, including REMUS platforms and Kraken MP-SAS data.
Neptune extends this approach into mission-level autonomy, providing an important pathway toward more collaborative and responsive autonomous operations. This capability was demonstrated during BZG’s Set-To-Work, where multi-vehicle operations were conducted using Neptune to enable automated re-tasking across the integrated REMUS capability. Rather than simply confirming that the individual components could operate together, the activity demonstrated how multiple autonomous vehicles could be coordinated and dynamically re-tasked as part of a broader mission workflow. This provided an opportunity to further refine the integrated system, strengthen operator familiarity and demonstrate how mission-level autonomy can support more efficient, responsive and coordinated underwater operations before the capability reaches the end user.
Building Capability In-Country
As more REMUS systems enter service, sovereign technical expertise becomes increasingly important to sustaining capability, maximising system availability and providing responsive support to Australian end users. BlueZone Group has supported REMUS platforms in Australia for many years and has operated as HII Mission Systems’ authorised depot-level service centre since 2022. Providing local expertise across maintenance, repairs, upgrades, sensor integration and operational support, BlueZone Group is reducing Australia’s reliance on overseas support and is strengthening the ability to sustain AUV capability in-country.
Further strengthening this expertise, BlueZone Group Engineer Jacob and Technician Callum have recently become . Working directly with the OEM provides BlueZone’s technical team with deeper operational knowledge of the platform, complementing their existing maintenance and engineering expertise and strengthening the support available to Australian operators.
As Jacob explains:
“Additional time spent working directly with the OEM strengthens BlueZone Group’s operational knowledge and allows us to better support end-users locally, particularly when Australian time zones don’t align with support teams in the US and UK.”
With the original program establishing an initial fleet of two REMUS vehicles and , the focus extends beyond individual platform deliveries. Ongoing help desk services, annual maintenance, engineering support, upgrades and future capability enhancements all contribute to a longer-term approach to sustaining REMUS capability in Australia.
The Next Step in Autonomous MCM
Australia’s Autonomous MCM capability is moving from the introduction of new technology towards an expanding, locally supported operational capability.
The latest REMUS 300 delivery represents another step in that progression. By combining proven autonomous platforms with advanced SAS sensing, underwater cameras, mission-management software and Australian technical expertise, BlueZone Group is helping establish the foundation required to keep these systems supported and mission-ready throughout their operational life.
Looking for an integrated solution to meet your operational needs? Contact our Sales team to discuss how we can support your requirements.
Read More:
BZG and HII REMUS 300 Technical Workshop (Photo credit: BlueZone Group)
REMUS 300 integrated with Kraken SAS and SeeByte Neptune (Photo credit: BlueZone group)
