Fiji to deploy solar powered Australian military drones at sea

SYDNEY – Maritime drones powered by sun and wind that can stay at sea for months will patrol Fiji’s waters for drug traffickers and other threats under a deal with Australia announced Friday.

Fiji approved a maritime security strategy on Thursday to combat transnational crime, including a surge in methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking across the Pacific.

The Bluebottle drone, manufactured in Sydney, is named after a small jellyfish with a painful sting that washes ashore on Australian beaches.

Australia’s military uses the small uncrewed boats to quietly surveil its vast northern coastline, powered by a solar mast and wind.

Australia’s Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the drones carry sonar equipment to detect vessels and submarines.

Australia will provide Fiji with Bluebottle drones and training, under a AU$600 million ($420 million) pledge made to Pacific Island countries last month to tackle organised crime at sea, officials said.

“For the good of every country in the region, including our own, we need to work together to stamp out the illicit drug trade,” Conroy said in Sydney.

“That means working together in a coordinated way in terms of intelligence gathering, intelligence sharing and interdiction,” he added.

Fiji also this week announced it was overhauling its intelligence service, with New Zealand’s spy agency to conduct a six-month review.

Australian company Ocius has been operating the Bluebottle fleet from a military base in Darwin in northern Australia, and opened an east coast factory in Sydney on Friday as it ramps up production.

The drones earmarked for Fiji will be deployed next year, officials said.

Pacific Island countries with small populations have struggled to patrol millions of kilometres of Pacific Ocean to combat illegal fishing fleets from Asia and the passage of “narco subs” deployed from South America.

As China and US allies vie for influence, the strategically located region has also seen increasing visits by Chinese warships and US Coast Guard patrols.

Navy chief Matt Buckley told reporters that Australia is building a fleet of 50 of the yacht-sized drones, which can be transported by aircraft or ship to deploy “anywhere that we want to operate in the Indian or Pacific”.

– Nampa/AFP

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