Australia is gifting an unspecified number of Australian-made unmanned surface vessels to Fiji to patrol its vast waters against drug trafficking, ABC and Australian Defence Magazine reported on 30 October. The donation is part of a $600 million Pacific maritime security initiative. Fijian personnel will control the wind-, solar- and wave-powered boats, which can monitor surface vessels up to 30 nautical miles away and send data to an Australian-funded security hub near Suva. The first boats are expected to arrive in Fiji next year.
Source: abc.net.auSource: australiandefence.com.au
Limits
The number of boats is unspecified; the first are expected next year, not yet delivered.