Portugal tested the autonomous naval base, which was called “island of drones”

From the "island" you can perform a whole range of operational tasks, both military and defense

The Portuguese Navy has tested the concept of a fully autonomous, self-sufficient naval base without a crew. This floating object, called an "island", can be used to support the operations of unmanned maritime systems, as well as to demonstrate the concepts of data processing at sea and remote assessment of the state of the environment.

This was reported by the publication  Naval News.

“Island” is an artificial marine platform. The concept was originally developed by the head of the Portuguese Navy, Admiral Enrique Gouveia y Melo. The prototype was tested at the annual exercises of the naval fleet “REPMUS” – these are robotic experiments and the creation of marine prototypes by unmanned systems, which took place in September near the Troy Peninsula, in the south of Portugal, the main training base.

In the long term, the Navy plans to create a larger “island” that will be located on on the seaward side of the peninsula above the deep-water canyon of Setúbal.

Prototype “island” consists of a floating metal platform anchored by four anchors, accessed via a small floating pontoon. A standard ISO cargo container is installed on the platform, which is divided into two sections: a data center and a space for divers, including a place to store unmanned underwater vehicles.

Special power supply on board the "island" is provided by solar panels, wind generators and batteries, which enables the platform to be self-sufficient in terms of energy.

The autonomous capabilities of the platform include a sonar system and other oceanographic sensors installed below the platform: they collect acoustic data, data on the speed and direction of ocean currents, water salinity and other data. “Island” is also equipped with video surveillance cameras that can carry out vessel classification and security monitoring.

In fact, the "island" can act as a forward base for sensors, increasing the detection range without increasing the risk to personnel.

With the "island" a number of operational tasks can be performed. The cable on the seabed can be used to teach the safety of critical underwater infrastructure. A diving complex in a sea container can support diving operations. The “island” itself can be used as a training target for surface and underwater defense exercises.

Portugal closely cooperates with the British, US and Australian navies, with a joint headquarters located here. As part of the exercise, naval drones stationed in Australia were launched remotely. The distance between the headquarters and the devices was about 10 thousand miles (16 thousand km).