Role & capabilities
- Persistent maritime surveillance
- Acoustic sensing support
- Environmental and hydrographic data collection
- Primary domain
- Sea surface
- System type
- Uncrewed surface vessel
- Developer / manufacturer
- Ocius Technology
- Origin / production countries
- Australia
- Other names
- Bluebottle USV
- Variants / configurations
- Renewable-energy Bluebottle; Bluebottle Hybrid — added diesel generator
- Operators / programme customers
- Royal Australian Navy; Royal New Zealand Navy — supplier-reported use
Evidence & current status
The fleet total announced in 2026 includes new procurement. Current and older Bluebottle dimensions differ; wind-force and sea-state scales are not interchangeable.
Bluebottle is an Australian uncrewed vessel designed for persistent observation above and below the sea surface. Its propulsion and energy approach combines wind, waves and electricity, allowing prolonged deployments without the logistics pattern of a conventional patrol boat. The newer Hybrid configuration adds a diesel generator for extra electrical demand and limited sunlight.
Ocius identifies Royal Australian Navy service from July 2024 and also reports New Zealand naval use. Australia's defence ministry announced an order for forty additional vessels in March 2026, intended to expand the fleet to fifty-five. That planned total should not be presented as fifty-five completed deliveries on the announcement date.
The current product page specifies a 7.4-metre craft; earlier Bluebottles were described with smaller dimensions. The profile therefore uses the current baseline and identifies the hybrid separately. Ocius also labels an environmental figure using the Beaufort scale. Beaufort wind force is not the same measure as the numbered sea-state scale used by some other manufacturers, so direct numerical comparisons would be misleading.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Uncrewed long-endurance surveillance vessel | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Hull / propulsion | Electric, wind and wave energy; Hybrid adds diesel generation | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Dimensions | 7.4 m length | Current advertised configuration; earlier hull generations differ. Source |
| Displacement / mass | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Payload | Surface and subsurface sensor suites; Hybrid supports higher-power payloads | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Endurance | Manufacturer reports deployments exceeding six months | Reported endurance record, not a guaranteed mission duration. Source |
| Range | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Speed | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Sea state / environment | Manufacturer states Beaufort force 8 | The source calls this 'operating sea state' but explicitly uses Beaufort; not sea state 8. Source |
| Sensors | Configurable maritime surveillance and underwater acoustic payloads | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
| Communications / control | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Launch / deployment | Boat-ramp trailer launch or crane handling | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source |
Documented milestones
Forty additional vessels ordered
Australia announced an investment to increase the intended fleet to 55 Bluebottles.
Read the announcement
Publication history
- — Added sourced land and maritime coverage with domain-specific evidence and limitations.
Suggest a correction to this entry
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- Current Bluebottle and Hybrid specifications (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- Australian government fleet order, 11 March 2026 (opens in a new tab)Government / operator
- Ocius operator and mission overview (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
