The Watcher
Gallery
Overview
7 m autonomous aluminium patrol boat from MetalCraft Marine that ran a 30-day US Coast Guard trial.
The Watcher is a 7-metre uncrewed patrol boat from Canadian builder MetalCraft Marine, based on its high-speed aluminium interceptors. It can sprint at 36 knots on three diesels, but its real strength is endurance: solar-charged batteries let it sit and watch for weeks. In late 2020 the US Coast Guard ran it for 30 days and nights off Oahu, often in rough seas, where it spotted approaching vessels and reported them to operators ashore every hour.
Primary Roles
Notes
22 ft by 8.5 ft (6.7 by 2.5 m) aluminium boat with three 220 hp Volvo D3 diesels, a 36 kn top speed and a quoted 1,800 nmi range (converted to km). Solar panels charge a battery bank for long-duration autonomous loitering of up to 30 days. Leased by the US Coast Guard for its Maritime Domain Awareness programme, it patrolled a 20-square-mile area 30 miles off Oahu for 30 days and nights in late 2020, detecting vessels from over a nautical mile away and sending hourly alerts ashore. A later 'Watcher' small USV built with HII on the ROMULUS-25 design is a separate product.
