Multi-hull Crewed Control Carrier as the Flagship of the Australian Drone Fleet

This is to propose Australia build a fleet of uncrewed drone warships and crewed ships control ships to one common design. These would be stealthy, to avoid detection by radar. They would be about the size of an offshore patrol vessel, but multi-hull, using the expertise of Austal and Incat in building high speed ferries and warships. 

The proposed Crewed Control Carrier (CCC) would be much smaller than the UK's Common Combat Vessel (CCV). This is because the CCC, focused on stealth, would not carry any offensive weapons, the launching of which could give away its position. In contrast the drone ships would be larger than most proposals from the UK & USA, as they need to be able to operate un-refueled across the expanses of the Pacific and Indian oceans. While having only defensive armament, the CCC could still be used alone for constabulary duties. The ship's auto-cannons, & short range missiles, would be sufficient to deal with pirates.

As an example, a starting point would be Austal's MRV-80 Multi-Role Vessel. This is to the same trimaran layout as the Independence class littoral combat ships built for the US Navy, but smaller at only 80m. The sides of the ship would be canted inwards, in the style of the experimental Sea Shadow (IX-529), to reduce the radar signature. Retractable panels would cover the helicopter deck, forming a hangar, and reducing the radar cross section. 

The vessels would be made in three versions:

Crewed Control Carrier,
generated with Google AI.
Tom Worthington 2026

1. Crewed Control Carrier: The control ship would have accommodation for up to 50 crew, with a control center for the operation of drone ships, submersibles and aircraft. The flight deck could be used for launching drones, with the provision to carry one crewed helicopter. Small surface drones and submersibles would be launched using the same stern ramp as for rigid inflatable boats. The ships would have short range radar, auto-cannons & missiles for self defence. 

2. Drone Missile Ship: The drone ship would retain the bridge of the command ship, for optional crewed use, but replace the accommodation with additional fuel and missiles. In addition to vertical launch cells, the ship could carry containerized missiles on the flight deck. Unlike other drone missile ship designs, the containers would be covered, when not launching, to reduce the radar cross section.

3. Sensor Ship: The sensor ship would have electronically steerable flat panel radar arrays built into the sloped surfaces for detecting aircraft, ballistic missiles and satellites. In a addition, a long range surface radar would be mounted on a telescopic mast. Like the missile ship, there would be a minimal bridge provided, but the ship would normally be operated remotely, as when actively scanning it would be a very visible target. The missile and control ships could also have receive only antennas to work in concert with the sensor ship.