SeaRush accelerates innovation with unmanned vessels
From a brainchild to a sailing prototype at sea in just five months. While traditional shipbuilding takes years, the Materiel and IT Command (COMMIT) is experimenting with boldness and speed through the SeaRush project. The goal? The development of unmanned vessels that are rapidly adaptable, scalable, and deployable in a changing threat landscape.
Building and experiencing
The Royal Netherlands Navy (CZSK) is already taking steps towards greater use of low-level and unmanned systems. SeaRush fits in with this. “We saw what Ukraine is doing with unmanned vessels and thought: we just have to get started,” says project leader Richard. “Not waiting for the perfect dot on the horizon, but building and experiencing the challenges we encounter.” The project therefore focuses on all building blocks simultaneously: communication, remote control, hull design, and system integration. Exactly what the vessel will ultimately do remains deliberately open. “Whether it will eventually have a radar, a camera, or something else is something we are leaving out of consideration for now. The design is flexible so that we can adapt if needs change.”
Project leaders Richard (l) and Just (m) in conversation with an employee of the shipyard (IMPACD).
3D printing as an accelerator
One of the most striking choices within SeaRush is the use of 3D printing for the hull. Not as an end in itself, but as a means to gain speed. “3D printing is one of the ways to build a hull,” explains Just. “The beauty of it is that you go from design to production in a short time. The first eight-meter boat was ready within five months and was already sailing on the Rhine.” It is not yet the ideal route for mass production, he emphasizes. “But for rapid innovation, it is perfect. The next step is likely a combination of production techniques.” At a shipyard in Woudsend, Friesland (IMPACD), work is currently underway on a new generation: the twelve-meter-long Fender. Larger, with new systems, and once again intended as an experimental platform.
A technical specialist (IMPACD) is indispensable for optimizing a 3D printing process.
Flexible and affordable
SeaRush is not just about speed, but also about flexibility and cost control. The vessels have a flexible design, with interchangeable components and systems. “You can combine different engines, propulsion, and sensors,” explains Just. “That makes it scalable and adaptable.” In addition, a low-cost approach was deliberately chosen. “We want to avoid building a boat that costs millions,” he continues. “Without a crew, you can also take more risks.”
Collaboration as the driving force
SeaRush is explicitly a collaboration between Defence, knowledge institutes, and the business community. This is an important pillar within the Defence Strategy for Industry and Innovation. MARIN supplies partial solutions to about eight to nine companies. COMMIT acts as a driver and facilitator. “We had the idea and brought the parties together,” says Richard. “MARIN has the knowledge and capacity to develop the technical details and manage the project.” That division of roles is essential. “We sit between Defence and the market and can assess what is feasible and connect parties that can make a contribution,” Just adds.
Five people are looking at the 3D-printed boat in the factory hall.
Just: “It is remarkable that we are bringing together all kinds of new technologies in a short timeframe into an experimental prototype that we are actually sailing.''
Experimenting at sea
The SeaRush vessels are emphatically experimental. They are tested, modified, and redeployed. “There is little point in sitting idle on the sidelines with such a boat,” Richard states clearly. “We continue to experiment with them, add systems, and improve them.” Deployment is therefore still open as well. The Navy is investigating how unmanned systems can work together with manned ships, for example in formations or as protection around a mothership. “This could involve small vessels scouting ahead, or conversely forming a barrier,” explains the COMMIT project leader. “The possibilities are vast.”From experiment to scaling up
Whether and when SeaRush leads to an actual purchase depends on the needs of the Royal Netherlands Navy. “We are currently funding this from innovation budgets,” emphasizes Commander Richard. “The next step is for the Navy to indicate that they want this. In that case, scaling up and procurement will follow.” The knowledge currently being built up is crucial in this process. “We are learning to specify what we need. That makes a future tender much more targeted.” Just adds a caveat: “We are currently building an experimental prototype, not a production boat. Scaling up requires different choices.”
The granules are the raw material used for printing.
Always in motion
There is certainly no time to sit back and relax. The strength of SeaRush lies precisely in its continuous movement. “I am already satisfied because so much is happening,” says the project leader enthusiastically on behalf of MARIN. “But at the same time, you keep seeing new possibilities,” adds Just. For Richard, it is clear. If we soon have a seaworthy, seaworthy prototype with which we can demonstrate that this works, and Defence subsequently picks it up, it will have been a success.
The full article: https://www.defensiedichtbij.nl/magazines/materieelgezien/2026/editie-3/searush-proeftuin-op-zee