"Navy’s fleet of 4ft sailboats to protect Britain from Putin’s submarines"
Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2025 9:42 pm
Floating drones could become military’s ‘eyes and ears in the sea’ as part of an early warning system
The Navy is testing fleets of robotic sailboats the size of bicycles to hunt for Russian nuclear submarines.
The Oshen C-Star, which is 4ft long and weighs about 50kg, is in very early trial stages with the Ministry of Defence.
If successful, the drones could soon become the Navy’s new “eyes and ears”, using their sensors to detect Russia’s new Yasen-M class nuclear submarines, which at 430ft long and 13,000 tonnes are more than 100 times their size.
Developers of the Oshen C-Star envisage “picket lines” of 1,000 eco-boats – powered by wind and solar energy – being deployed in the strategic area between Iceland, Greenland and Britain.
The drones would be able to support the Navy’s eight new Type 26 submarine-hunting frigates, which are set to join the fleet in the 2030s.
Britain is testing a number of drones as part of the Atlantic Bastion concept, which is seeking to develop a future fleet of hundreds of unmanned vessels and submarines that can support traditional warships in deterring hostile states.
Anahita Laverack, 25, the co-founder of drone firm Oshen, said: “We could be the early warning system, peppering the area with this long-endurance monitoring system.
“When we hear something, these tiny little robots will then pass that message along. We could be the first line of defence ... the eyes and ears in the sea.”
Mrs Laverack, an Imperial College London aeronautical engineering graduate, set up Oshen three years ago with Ciaran Dowds, 26, her business partner, and said they could deliver technology to protect the nation.
She said: “The world that myself and my co-founder grew up in feels like it’s changed. If I have the skills to help, if I’m going to put in an intense amount of work that has a generational impact – that’s the best way to protect our country’s long-term future.”
The C-Stars, developed in Plymouth, have already proved their mettle in collecting environmental data, becoming the first uncrewed boat to successfully capture and transmit data from the heart of a Category 5 hurricane.
Five of the vessels were stationed in a picket line about 200 miles north of Saint Thomas Island in the Caribbean as part of a research project with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to intercept Hurricane Humberto in September.
Three of the boats sailed straight into the eye of the storm, surviving gusts of 173mph and 30m swells before sending back data on air pressure, wind speed, humidity and heat at the ocean surface.
However, Ms Laverack said the boats could play a key role in Britain’s efforts to protect its seas and underwater cables from Russian warships, submarines and spy vessels.
She added: “The biggest place to make a difference is anti-submarine warfare. This is the most pressing need.”
The C-Stars can deploy hydrophones at various depths in the ocean where they can use sensitive technology to pick out the tell-tale signs of a submarine gliding under the waves, working in two 500-mile picket lines with a mile between them.
When a potential contact is identified, the details could be sent to the Navy, which could then deploy a warship or specialist Merlin submarine-hunting helicopter to investigate.
Ms Laverack said the small size of the drones make them difficult to see. She added that the vessels would be cheap and easy to replace if damaged, with a fleet of 1,000 costing £10m to £20m to build.
She said: “It’s basically impossible to spot. Looking in a heavy sea state from 300m away, they will be incredibly difficult to see. But from a mile you would never spot them.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/26/royal-navy-small-boats-protect-britain-from-putin/
