ACUA Ocean Announces Build of Second Pioneer-Class USV

ACUA Ocean has announced an agreement with Aluminium Marine Consultants on the Isle of Wight for the build of the second in the Pioneer-class of uncrewed surface vessels. The agreement includes an intention for a third vessel in the class to follow in 2026.

The Pioneer-class will initially be built under the designation Pioneer Mk2 and will incorporate design optimizations including enhanced system redundancy, speed and endurance. Aluminium is scheduled to be cut on the new vessel in Q4 ahead of commissioning in summer 2026.

The Pioneer-class USV has a central moonpool which enables permits easy twist-lock installation of modular interchangeable payloads:

• Up to a 20ft equivalent unit ISO container footprint
• Up to 6 tons payload mass
• Upwards of 50kW power draw dependent on USV and payload configuration

This supports the operation of a variety of payloads, including towed bodies for seabed mapping; geophysical site and subsea pipe/cable inspections; and defense applications such as (mine countermeasures, rapid environmental assessment, Intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance).

The Pioneer-classes modular payload configuration is designed such that several USVs and their modular payloads can be operated offshore in concurrency from a Remote Operations Centre. This enables scalable and cost-effective multi-domain operations, permitting increased geographical coverage and rapid response to task requirements.

The flexible, modular ISO-dimension payload bay offers versatility and maintainability of payloads. ACUA Ocean is working with technology partners to develop a range of ROV payload and LARS designs. 

The announcement follows Lloyd’s Register (LR) issuing the UK’s first ever certification for a remotely operated and unmanned vessel (ROUV) under the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) Workboat Code Edition 3 (WBC3) Annex 2 to USV Pioneer in August 2025.