The UK’s BAE Systems and Canadian company Cellula Robotics have signed a 10-year exclusive agreement to continue working together on Herne, a new autonomous submarine developed specifically for military use, and have announced that they expect to deliver a market ready craft for customers by the end of 2026.
The announcement follows successful trials last November during which the submarine conducted a pre-programmed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission powered by Nautomate, BAE Systems’ platform agnostic autonomous control system.
BAE Systems has configured Herne to give militaries a cost-effective option to conduct various missions. It can support anti-submarine warfare, undertake covert surveillance missions and monitor and help protect underwater infrastructure across the vast expanses of the seabed.
Without the need to resupply or carry life support systems, it can work in tandem with crewed platforms or by itself to provide a persistent presence underwater for longer, at greater scale and a fraction of the cost of traditional submarines.
This successful collaboration has so far resulted in a ‘whiteboard to water’ capability in just 11 months, culminating in a series of successful trials in the UK and Canada throughout 2024. The trials informed a number of design enhancements and BAE Systems and Cellula Robotics continue to refine the Herne submarine, with the aim of delivering a market ready craft for customers by the end of 2026.
