Vidar FP unmanned surface vehicle. (TecPro/Vic Tec/Janes)
The Vidar FP unmanned surface vehicle (USV) was unveiled at the Eurosatory 2024 defence exhibition held in Paris from 17 to 21 June. One of three Vidar FP prototypes, designed by Latvian company Vic Tec, was displayed at the stand of Swiss company TecPro Technologies, which is managing the USV project.
A TecPro representative told Janes that Vidar FP trials have been under way in the Baltic Sea since late January 2024, covering automation, obstacle avoidance, and communications, with NATO certification expected by October or November. The trials have been conducted within range of Russian electronic warfare systems, which made it possible to test Vidar FP in an autonomous and failsafe mode in a GPS-denied environment, according to the company representative.
The USV can operate autonomously for days up to 2,000 n miles on its single 1.26 m3 tank of diesel fuel. The TecPro representative said Vidar FP is not limited to a specific supplier for the systems it is equipped with. Its two Japanese 30.9 kW 3,000 rpm engines have multiple sources for spare parts.
At Eurosatory 2024, Vidar FP was displayed with an onboard optical gyroscope and a tethered rotary-wingobservation unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from Atlas Aerospace, which can reach an altitude of 50 m and remain airborne indefinitely. It can identify targets, along with the USV's stabilised gimbal with two day and two night (thermal) cameras equipped with artificial intelligence to facilitate navigation and detection of obstacles such as buoys and piers.
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