DSA 2012: Fifth Eolution for 5G's Integrator

5G International is some 6-8 months away from developing the newest generation of its USV, the Integrator.


Speaking to Shephard at DSA 2012 on 18 April in Kuala Lumpur Robert Murphy, CEO of the company, said the Interceptor was first developed in 2009, and this will be the  fifth generation of the company's USV, first designed and operated with the US Navy in the early 1990s.


The new system will see the inclusion of software enhancements, information encryption and inertial navigation, as well as other undisclosed details, Murphy said.

'The Asia-Pacific want boats for a number of different reasons; there are a lot of smugglers,' Murphy explained. 'There is no manned solution for this. In time it will be remotely piloted vehicles that protect the shore.'


The company has a presence in UAE and Malaysia, and cites Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam as target nations.

Referring to expensive UAVs that do surveillance of large areas such as the Predator, Murphy said: 'These countries can't afford that. So what we do is take it down [to sea level].


'When we started the USN were looking for surveillance vessels. We had to find a way to take the technology above the surface.


'You have to investigate quickly. Manned systems take a long time to get out there. You have to find out what exactly the target is, and one prime directive of these robots is to find out what the threat is,' he concluded.