The latest from AEVEX Aerospace is a terrifying ‘kamikaze’ jet ski: it crashes into enemy ships and explodes

AEVEX Aerospace, a company based in San Diego, California, just presented one of its most recent innovations for the defense sector. This is Mako, a unmanned surface vehicle (USV) designed for naval operations.

This USV is a multipurpose maritime drone, but it stands out for its ‘kamikaze’ essence. Like kamikaze drones, it can identify targets, usually enemy ships costing millions of dollars, and pursue them until crashing into them and sometimes exploding.

The key is in the price (and the platform)

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have seen how the armed forces of both countries have used aerial drones relatively affordable to damage expensive assets. This has led Moscow, for example, to create what some call ‘turtle tanks’ with additional protection.

Something similar has been happening at sea for some time now with autonomous vessels whose design and construction varies in price and complexity. The truth is that price continues to be a determining factor for the armed forces. And here AEVEX comes into the picture.

The firm ensures that it can offer maritime drones at a low price, but without giving up a series of interesting capabilities for operators. You may be wondering what the secret is. The answer is the platform of these unmanned vehicles.

The product has been developed from the platform of a jet ski. Then a lot of technology has been added so that the drone can fulfill a variety of functions. And all under an “open architecture” that allows modifications at any time.

Mako has a length of 3.4 meters and a beam of 1.2 meters. With a full load of fuel you can travel for up to 463 kilometers and transport up to 405 kg of cargo. According to the manufacturerwhile equipped with GPS, is designed to also work without it.

Likewise, as we said, it has an autonomous navigation system based on algorithms and a variety of sensors. The maritime drone “can make decisions without direct intervention,” although we don’t know exactly if this will include attack scenarios.

Mako, in addition to attacking enemy ships, promises to be an effective tool for a wide range of tasks. For example, to offer logistical support, personnel transportation, intelligence reconnaissance or surveillance. Customers can customize it according to their needs.

The company also has a smaller version of the drone. It has been called Mako Lite and has a length of 2.7 meters and a beam of 1.1 meters. For its part, it can transport up to 206 kg, and it shares most of the characteristics of its older brother.

Images | AEVEX Aerospace

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