Submarine for Sabotage: Britain Develops Unique Platform for Special Forces

The British company SubSea Craft (SSC) has introduced a new series of autonomous and manned maritime platforms designed for special forces, amphibious units, and naval strike teams.

The Navy Lookout media outlet reported on this.

The company’s primary products are two platforms: VICTA, an unmanned underwater vehicle for delivering special forces and divers, and MARS, an unmanned surface platform.

SSC is based in the United Kingdom, with headquarters at the former Ben Ainslie Racing base in Old Portsmouth, where it develops and manufactures unmanned platforms, particularly for use by special forces units.

The main product, VICTA, is a dual-purpose vehicle capable of operating as a high-speed boat or a small underwater carrier for special forces.

Its carbon-fiber hull is coated with a synthetic waterproof layer for full water resistance. Measuring 11.95 meters in length, VICTA can reach speeds of over 40 knots on the surface and switch to underwater mode in under 2 minutes.

The vehicle can carry up to eight personnel (two pilots and six soldiers) and has a range of over 200 nautical miles, allowing launches beyond enemy sensor coverage. Its fly-by-wire control system automatically manages diving, surfacing, and propulsion. During operations, VICTA can deploy a CADIS drone underwater for reconnaissance and, after personnel disembark, autonomously return to an evacuation point.

Additional features include submarine simulation: operating without a crew, VICTA can mimic a submarine’s acoustic and magnetic signatures to distract enemy forces. The combination of surface and underwater autonomy makes it suitable for covertly transporting personnel, sensors, or cargo in coastal areas without the need for larger ships.

MARS (Maritime Autonomous Reconnaissance and Support) is a new unmanned surface vehicle (USV), developed as a logical extension of the “smart maritime systems” concept. Unlike VICTA, which is focused on covert personnel transport, MARS is intended for reconnaissance, support, and combat in autonomous or semi-autonomous modes.

MARS emphasizes flexibility and speed of development. The whole process, from technical requirements to finished prototype, took roughly 100 days at SubSea Craft, a record for maritime platforms. The roughly 6-meter-long vehicle can reach speeds up to 30 knots and has a range exceeding 550 km. It can be configured for multiple tasks, including cargo delivery, electronic warfare, or maritime patrol.

Militarnyi previously reported that the Royal Navy has started preparations to purchase 20 unmanned surface drones as part of its transition to a “Hybrid Fleet.”