Whale Island
Royal Navy establishment in Portsmouth housing Navy Commercial.
Whale Island in Portsmouth houses Navy Commercial, the Royal Navy procurement office that issued two uncrewed-vessel market notices on 5 August 2026, one for a certifying Platform Authority and one for a GBP10m testbed hull.
Last refreshed: 12 August 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why is one Portsmouth naval base behind both Royal Navy robot-boat notices?
Timeline for Whale Island
Navy asks how to certify a robot ship
Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaBackground
Whale Island is a Royal Navy establishment in Portsmouth harbour, home to Navy Commercial, the office that handles the Navy's equipment procurement.
The island's role came into view in August 2026 when Navy Commercial issued two uncrewed-vessel notices from there on the same day: one scoping a Platform Authority to certify uncrewed maritime systems, the other funding a GBP10m testbed hull for the Defence Chief Technology Officer. Both the body that will judge whether a robot vessel is SAFE and the experimental hull it would certify trace back to the same Whale Island office.