129. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Defence for an update on the GUARD, OVERSIGHT and SeaDOM projects on maritime and subsea object detection at the Centre for Robotics and Intelligent Systems (CRIS) at the University of Limerick; whether any of these projects have become operationally capable; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54118/26]

The GUARD project, funded through Enterprise Ireland's Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund (DTIF) for a 36-month period from 1st July 2021 to 31st June 2024, was developed to support drug interdiction by utilising smart drones.

The project was led by Tyndall National Institute and included A-TechSYN, VRAI, WAZP, University College Dublin and the University of Limerick (CRIS Lab) as project partners, with the Irish Naval Service providing operational input to the project. GUARD examined the use of smart drone technology, including medium-range vertical take-off and landing systems, to support maritime surveillance, drug interdiction and maritime situational awareness. From a Defence perspective, the project provided information relevant to potential future capability development in the maritime domain and to the possible operational use of unmanned systems in support of security tasks at sea.

Naval Service colleagues continue to engage with the GUARD consortium.

The SeaDom (Sea-Surface and Subsea Dark Object Detection and Mitigation) and Oversight (Innovation Detection System for Dark Vessels to Enhance Maritime Security in Ireland's Waters) projects were funded through the 2024 Research Ireland Defence Innovation Challenge under the Maritime Domain Awareness Challenge area.

SeaDom focussed on the creation of an Unmanned Sub-Surface Vessel (USSV) that can be deployed from ports or tethered from ships to provide information on dark vessels or detect contraband. Separately, the Oversight project focussed on the development of tethered drone installations around coastal perimeters that can detect dark vessels within 40km of shore.

As the Research Ireland Defence Innovation Challenge is a stage-gated process, pending the recommendations of an independent international review panel, these projects were not selected to progress beyond the Concept Phase of the programme. Therefore no further funding was provided to these projects beyond the €20,000 funding allocated to support teams through the Concept Phase. Consequently, these projects are not currently operationally capable.