November 20, 2025: The U.S. Navy has a long history of using naval drones. These are usually USVs, or unmanned surface vessels or UUV which are unmanned underwater vessels. The latest drone to enter service is the unarmed Quickfish Interceptor USV which can be used by merchant marine fleet operators, fishing fleet operators as well as navies and coast guards. While it can operate autonomously, it can also be operated remotely via commercial or military satellite link or another ship with the proper equipment and access codes.

Quickfish is a 5.2 meter long, 862 kg vessel with a top speed 61 kilometers an hour, which can be sustained for up to 700 kilometers. Cruising speed is about half top speed and enables Quickfish to stay at sea for weeks. Time on station is over a month if Quickfish remains stationary and simply monitors surrounding waters. Quickfish can operate in bad weather up to Sea State 6 and survive Sea State 10 generated by typhoons and hurricanes.

The standard onboard electronics package features satellite communication capabilities via LTE, Iridium, or Starlink. The system includes a surface radar and five high-definition cameras. Navigation is supported by GPS/GNSS, an inertial measurement unit/IMU, a compass, 3-D lidar, AIS, and a tricolor navigation light. Collision avoidance functionality is achieved through automated AIS sense-and-avoid technology combined with lidar-based object detection. Standard equipment includes marine radar and a long-range EO/IR pan-tilt-zoom camera.

Quickfish can be purchased for $500,000 which includes three days training and technical support contracts that can be renewed. Naval commanders are more interested in Quickfish Interceptor USVs and the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are interested in Quickfish because one of these drones earlier this year encountered several warships during a 13,000 transit across the Pacific. One of the ships caught by the Quickfish video cameras was a Chinese destroyer.