UK-French drone cleans warships quicker – no dry dock, divers or downtime needed
The UK and France have come together to develop a new, quicker and cheaper way of cleaning warships that uses a drone to wash a vessel – avoiding lengthy and costly periods in dry dock.
The hull of the French navy's flagship FS Charles de Gaulle was inspected and cleaned without the need for using expert divers with specialist equipment after harnessing the latest underwater technology.
Royal Navy exchange officer Lieutenant Cam Dalley oversaw the project on the 41,000-tonne carrier.
Lt Dalley's team were asked to look at ways of saving time, money and effort to keep the aircraft carrier's hull clean.
These vessels need to be cleaned because of hull fouling, which is caused by bio growth on underwater surfaces, and reduces a warship's efficiency and speed, while increasing fuel consumption.