STR8 Industries Ghostwake USV
STR8 Industries has developed an unmanned surface vessel called Ghostwake, designed for operations across the first island chain and produced in Taiwan. The company claims it is the fastest USV made in Taiwan, with a speed of up to 55 knots.
STR8 Industries has developed Ghostwake, an unmanned surface vessel designed for operations across the first island chain, with production taking place in Taiwan. According to a company representative, the mission is to provide real maritime security capability across the first island chain, with the requirement changing to focus on large numbers of low-cost systems rather than a small number of expensive ones, as reported by Naval News.
Development Background
The development of Ghostwake is reportedly inspired by Ukraine's successful use of USVs against Russia's conventional fleet, with STR8 Industries aiming to replicate similar effects in the Western Pacific. The firm also highlights the potential application of Ghostwake for civilian uses such as surveying and offshore operations.
Key Specifications
The key specifications of Ghostwake include a speed of up to 55 knots, with the company claiming it is the fastest USV made in Taiwan. Other specifications include the ability to be on station for seven days, operate in excess of Sea State 6, and carry payloads of 350 kilograms. The company plans to collaborate with shipyards around Kaohsiung to produce 200 Ghostwakes per year from a single site.
Production and Future Plans
The production plans for Ghostwake are summarized in the following table:
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | up to 55 knots |
| Station time | 7 days |
| Sea State | excess of 6 |
| Payload | 350 kilograms |
| Annual production | 200 |
STR8 Industries has been testing its drone vessel design in the waters around Taiwan in recent months, following the company's public unveiling in June at Computex Taipei. The company received an award for its work behind Ghostwake's distributed processing design and is working to improve the autonomous operations and performance of the Ghostwake design through continuous testing in the water. The company representative stated that the priority is data, with autonomy models improving with data, and data coming from hulls in the water doing real work, not from simulation. Ghostwake's development comes as Taipei seeks to invest up to $6.6 billion in a large drone program, which includes up to 1,300 USVs, to counter China's coercive activities and a potential invasion. The command and control system used by Ghostwake has already been proven through a widely fielded allied tactical situational awareness application and another C2 system from an unspecified government.
