New Zealand's military plans to make wider use of uncrewed surface vessels around New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific to counter a fast-growing drug trade and other security threats, 1News reports. The country's two vessels, Tahi and Rua, have flagged 150 suspicious boats to Customs over the past two years, and have just completed a four-week deployment in Fiji at that government's request, during which they monitored 137 vessels. A Fijian maritime official said drug trafficking caused serious harm and called regional security a shared responsibility. Australia has committed one vessel to Fiji and is adding 40 to its existing fleet of 15 Bluebottle drones, built by the Australian company Ocius Technology and powered by wave, solar and wind energy. Ocius has also opened a maintenance facility in Auckland.
Source: 1News