
A futuristic drone boat capable of racing across the water at 60mph was unleashed on the waters of the River Thames.

The impressive unmanned 32-ft vessel was seen cutting through the water in central London, as it was put through its paces before a mammoth British military exercise involving 40 other autonomous crafts, called Unmanned Warrior, this autumn.

While the Royal Navy boat is unarmed, it is well equipped for the field with a 360 degree camera, GPS, radar and a radio system.

High tech: The Royal Navy's new unmanned boat drone cuts through the waters of River Thames during an exercise

Cutting edge: The drone (pictured, passing under Tower Bridge in London), which can reach speeds of 60mph, has a blade runner hull - a design used to build speed boats

Mission: The boat is unarmed and will be used for reconnaissance missions during operations where water is congested

The vessel, which weighs 2,000kg and can reach speeds of up to 50 knots, has been designed using the Bladerunner hull structure which is commonly used on elite racing boats.

Passersby on-shore could be forgiven for thinking they were watching the filming of a James Bond movie as the boat whizzed through the water, followed by training vessel HMS Archer, but there was no 007 needed for this wet and wild adventure.

The craft, which has the slightly convoluted title of Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed or MAST for short, will be used by the Navy to assess enemy craft when waters are congested during operations.

It will not attack, but instead manoeuvre at high speeds to get close to opposing vessels and then relay information to the fleet so that our ships can asses which step to make.

Equipped: The vessel is well kitted out for operations, with a 360 degre camera, GPS, radar and radio system onboard

The boat was being tested out prior to its display alongside 40 autonomous crafts at the British Military's Unmanned Warrior exercise later this Autumn

007: Passersby could be forgiven for thinking they were watching the filming of a James Bond movie as the boat sped past London's landmarks, such as the Houses of Parliament and HMS Belfast

MAST was built by ASV Ltd, an unmanned boat makers in Portchester, as a result of funding by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.