Couach has unveiled the MAGELLAN, the latest addition to the Couach Shipyard R&D department and the company’s first Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV).
The MAGELLAN USV is designed to perform a variety of missions at sea, including electronic warfare, information gathering, target detection and identification, surface and underwater surveillance and reconnaissance. To carry out these missions, Couach is currently developing the MAGELLAN around three main pillars:
- Technological modularity
- Excellence of marine performance
- Practicality of deployment
Highly stable and designed to be self-righting, the MAGELLAN USV features a composite, carbon and Kevlar hull and an innovative diesel and electric propulsion based on the use of a 13 Kw microturbine, which allows it to navigate for 5 days at a speed of 6 knots, with a reduced noise signature to ensure discretion.
According to Couach, the MAGELLAN has been designed as a modular technological platform, able to carry a large payload of over 500 liters. The USV can be equipped with modules, allowing for the deployment of acoustic buoys or ESM type modules. The USV package includes a mission planning module and a control center – on land or onboard – which ensures mission monitoring for its user.
With a length of 6 meters and a width of 1.3 meters, and a displacement of between 1,000 and 1,200kg, the MAGELLAN was designed to be easily transported in a container. According to Couach, it is recoverable without assistance and without deploying a recovery system thanks to its retractable mast and its lifting hook.
