The UK government has officially suspended plans for the acquisition of an unmanned surface vessel designed to enhance international maritime survey capabilities through an initiative known as Project Lily. This decision was confirmed by a termination notice from Defence Equipment and Support, which stated that the project will not move forward, and no contracts will be awarded at this time.
Notably, the UK authorities did not disclose the reasons behind this sudden cancellation. Furthermore, there has been no indication regarding the potential for this unmanned system to be reintroduced as part of a revised initiative or its integration into broader naval modernization efforts, as reported by UK Defence Journal.
Project Lily was initially focused on procuring a single commercial off-the-shelf drone ship intended for year-round operations in open-ocean settings. The vessel was expected to undertake critical military survey tasks, particularly focusing on the collection of hydrographic and oceanographic data, activities that have traditionally required crewed survey ships.
In addition to the drone ship itself, the plan included establishing a dedicated remote operations facility to manage the vessel during its deployments. This project was estimated to carry a budget of £27.3 million (approximately $37 million), excluding value-added tax, with anticipated work scheduled to take place from 2026 to 2030.
During the initial stages of planning, the British defense ministry had expressed expectations of significant interest from companies specializing in maritime autonomy, marine robotics, and maritime sensing technologies, suggesting a robust market for innovation in this sector. However, the unexpected suspension of Project Lily raises questions about the future of such technologies in the UK’s naval capabilities.
