Small, Unmanned Spy Boat Washed Up on Scottish Island
October 8th, 2020Via: Forbes:
Last week a small unmanned vessel washed up on the rocky Scottish Isle of Tiree, about a hundred miles from the U.K.’s nuclear submarine base at Faslane. It was identified as a Wave Glider, a type made by U.S. company Liquid Robotics, which is capable of traveling thousands of miles and is used by both the U.S. Navy and Britain’s Royal Navy as well as other government agencies and scientific researchers. The local Coast Guard have been unable to trace the owner so far, but the craft’s configuration suggests it was on a secret mission.
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There are a couple of unusual features about this particular Wave Glider which suggest a military rather than scientific mission. One is that is grey rather than the usual bright yellow, with no pennant to make it easier to see. There are no navigation lights, which are compulsory for any vessel sailing at night under U.K. law, or a radar reflector. Without these aids, the glider, which lies flat on the water, would be extremely difficult to spot. This would make it a navigation hazard, though in almost any collision the small unmanned craft would probably come off worse. This may explain why one of the antennas is broken and how it ended washed up on a beach. The question though is why such a vessel would be sailing covertly in ‘stealth mode.’
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UPDATE: Thurs 8th October 10:00am EST – Liquid Robotics have also responded.
“We have had several reach outs over the washed up platform and have engaged the end user to make them aware of this find. I believe they are in the process of reaching out to local authorities with further instructions on the disposal.”
This confirms that the craft is a Liquid Robotics Wave Glider rather than a clone. But the mystery remains over who was operating it, what it was doing — and why they are keeping quiet.
Perhaps it was being used to collect submarine acoustic profiles to aid in later identification.