Shield AI and Taiwan’s Thunder Tiger Corporation announced on 29 July that they had completed their first demonstration of the Hivemind autonomous teaming system on unmanned surface vessels (USV).
Furthermore, this marked the first time that Hivemind has integrated maritime radar and the automatic identification system (AIS). The combination was tested with multiple assets in a maritime environment.
Taking place in waters off Pingtung in Taiwan, Thunder Tiger’s SeaShark 600 and SeaShark 800 USVs equipped with Hivemind autonomously executed a coordinated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission using maritime radar, imagery and AIS data.
Shield AI said in a press release that Hivemind autonomously planned mission waypoints, searched a designated maritime area, identified a target vessel of interest, and coordinated the USVs to escort the vessel out of the designated search zone.
The SeaShark 600 USV debuted in 2025. Featuring a payload capacity of around 600kg, this vessel can achieve speeds of around 50kt over a 350km range. At that time, Thunder Tiger said it had received orders from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense for 1,600 SeaShark 600s.
The larger SeaShark 800, meanwhile, can carry a heavier payload of 800kg.
Gene Su, Thunder Tiger’s General Manager and Director, said: “As an island nation, the maritime domain is increasingly critical to Taiwan’s security.
“By integrating AI [artificial intelligence] pilots into our portfolio, we can enable distributed, networked teams that coordinate dynamically to build a more complete understanding of the maritime environment – improving the ability to detect, classify and identify contacts while helping operators respond with greater speed, scale and effectiveness.”
While the trial demonstrated an ISR function, Hivemind could potentially be expanded to allow USVs to perform attack manoeuvres too. Thunder Tiger, along with other domestic companies, have said their USVs are capable of carrying explosive warheads.
Separately, the Republic of China Navy commissioned the first 685-tonne Tuo Chiang-class Batch II corvette on 24 July.
ROCS Tan Chiang (pennant number ‘PGG-627’) is the first of five ships in Batch II that will feature Leonardo’s NA-30S Mk2 fire control radar in place of the French-built Stir 1.2 EO Mk2 fire-control radar.
by Chen Chuanren
