Plymouth-based, ACUA Ocean designs, develops and operates uncrewed surface vessels designed for full open ocean operations across defence and offshore applications. Their Pioneer-class USV is designed around stability and endurance, capable of deploying up to 6.7 tonnes of modular aerial, surface and subsurface system and sensor payloads in higher operation sea states all year round. Pioneer was the first USV to achieve UK Workboat Code 3 regulatory approvals. In June 2026, Pioneer operated offshore for more than 100 hours without physical intervention, running RF surveillance and hydrographic survey payloads simultaneously. The autonomous vessels deploy their FleetMind software, an integrated platform monitoring system launched in 2026 that has logged over 7,000 hours of on-water operations and collected over 30 billion datapoints since August 2025. ACUA is working with a range of payload partners for the deployment of subsurface ROVs and AUVs for inspection and monitoring of subsea infrastructure, as well as the deployment of aerial drones for maritime ISR and inspection of offshore infrastructure.