Portugal's Navictus develops multi-purpose modular USV

The Nav-45 USV was designed for a wide range of missions, including patrol, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and harbour protection. (Navictus)

Portugal's Navictus is to launch the construction of its Nav-45 multi-purpose, modular Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) in early March, the company's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Gonçalo Meira told Janes .

Design of the Nav-45 took place between October 2025 and February 2026, Meira said.

Construction of the Aluminium-made hull and superstructure is being carried out by local shipbuilder União Construtora Naval (UCN), with completion scheduled to take place in late March, Gonçalo Meira said, adding that the company wants, at a later stage, to build a hull and superstructure from fiberglass.

Sea trials of the USV will begin in June, after fittings are installed.

The Nav-45 was developed as a fully autonomous USV with modular interfaces for integration of mission sensors and equipment, silent operation, a minimised thermal signature, and onboard Artificial Intelligence (AI) capability for target detection and classification, according to Navictus.

The intent was to make the USV available for the Portuguese Navy and export market, Gonçalo Meira said.

Navictus has developed two business models for Nav-45 operation, such as what they term “fleet-as-a-service”, with customers paying per mission, including deployment, operators, and data, without owning the USV; or a turn-key system with the client purchasing the USV together with training and support.

The NAV-45 comes with an inertial navigation system (INS), onboard power system, SATCOM terminal for Beyond Line-Of-Sight (BLOS) connectivity, Automatic Identification System (AIS), wireless mesh network for encrypted vessel-to-vessel communication, navigation radar, four HD cameras for day and night 360º perimeter coverage, and a 50 kWh Lithium-ion battery pack.