OMS Group Acquires Second Exail DriX O-16 for Subsea Cable Installation

OMS Group and Exail announced the acquisition of a second Exail DriX O-16 Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV), accelerating OMS Group’s deployment of autonomous survey capabilities to support the growing demand for subsea cable infrastructure worldwide.

The first DriX O-16, purchased last year and to be named USV Elite, is scheduled to be launched in mid-2026. Together, the two vessels will support subsea cable installation campaigns globally, performing seabed surveys, route verification, and monitoring for critical telecommunications cable infrastructure.

With an operational endurance of up to 30 days and a range of approximately 3,500 nautical miles, the DriX O-16 is designed to support long-duration survey missions with minimal reliance on crewed vessels. The platform also accommodates advanced survey sensors, including the Kongsberg EM124 multibeam echo sounder, enabling precise, high-resolution seabed mapping required for large-scale subsea infrastructure projects.

The DriX O-16 will be integrated into OMS Group’s expanding survey ecosystem, alongside the planned deployment of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and the establishment of a Remote Operation Centre (ROC) in Singapore, enabling remote supervision, real-time data validation, and coordinated multi-vehicle operations.

The DriX range of USVs, which includes the H-8, H-9 and O-16, is designed to address the evolving needs of offshore operations through scalable and flexible autonomous solutions.