Experimental Drone Ship “Sea Hunter,” click to see full-size image
The US Navy is building two new large drone ships.
When they’re ready they will be utilized in coordinating synchronized attacks, perform command and control across fleets of Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) and conduct maritime missions such as anti-submarine operations, mine countermeasures, surface warfare and forward-deployed surveillance.
According to the Program Manager, Unmanned Maritime Systems, Naval Sea Systems Command, Capt. Peter Small, who spoke to reporters at the Surface Naval Association Symposium, the new vessels are in early stages of development and are intended to perform both manned and unmanned operations while networked to a smaller fleet of multi-mission USVs.
“We are integrating Large USVs (LUSV) and Medium USVs (MUSV) into the architecture, as a large part of a future surface combatant force. We are developing a single integrated combat system shared across the entire combat portfolio,” Small said.
The Navy is also exploring ways of arming maritime drones with weapons, Small explained that the initial emphasis of the new larger surface drones will be autonomy, endurance, precision navigation and command and control.
“Autonomy and human-led command and control systems form the basis of the Navy’s rapidly evolving, multi-year “Ghost Fleet” project to engineer a fleet of coordinated, interoperable surface drones able to share time-sensitive combat information in real time across the force. In development now for many years by the Office of Naval Research and Naval Sea Systems Command, Ghost Fleet is engineered to leverage the most advanced AI and machine-learning technologies available. The intent is to enable swarms of synchronized drones to capture, organize and disseminate key targeting and sensor data, such as the location of mines, submarines, surface vessels or incoming enemy attacks,” Warrior Maven reported.
There is no hull design being constructed yet, or any specific configurations. The Navy began a dialogue with the industry to explore technical options and requirements for the new vessels. The service has released a formal RFI – request for information – to industry for the MUSV.
“Ghost Fleet” represents a Navy strategy to surveil, counter, overwhelm and attack enemies in a coordinated fashion, while the sailors are at a safe distance on a host ship.
Small explained that the new USVs are designed with the Ghost Fleet in mind.
“Ghost Fleet is helping us in a number of ways one of the big ways it is helping us is in the command and control communications arena. Integrating military-ready and military capable interoperable and command and control. All of that learning will go right into our medium and large USV programs — and how we interact with medium and large USV and how we talk to them and command and control them,” Small told Warrior Maven.
The new ships will operate in tandem with the Navy’s now-in-development fleet of small boat USVs to include the Unmanned Influence Sweep Systems and the emerging Mine Countermeasures USV
The development of the new ships is part of an existing Navy program called Unmanned Maritime Autonomy Architecture, a coordinated technology push to advance autonomy and create new interface control documents, Small said.
“In an autonomous vehicle you have different layers of autonomy. You need autonomy to turn the engine on and off, operate mechanical and electrical equipment and perform automated command and control,” he added.
The new LUSV and MUSV are to be designed with a set of common standards and defined interfaces to accommodate new weapons, software and technologies as they emerge, to allow for continuous modernization.
“What I want to do in a program manager is be able to adapt and upgrade platforms to bring new technology to bear as it develops. This will prevent getting the sensors, payloads and platforms and that autonomy so intertwined — so that when we do make those breakthroughs in machine learning and AI we will be able to incorporate it into a whole portfolio of platforms and systems,” Small said.
Small said that the end goal is to create a common software system for all domains.
“There can be a single software solution across all domains … ashore, afloat on the surface and undersea,” Small said.
In an earlier report by Defense News from January 15th, the outlet looked at possible capabilities and specifications of the USVs.
According to the outlet, the US Navy will field medium and large unmanned surface combatants to accompany manned warships at sea. The medium-size drone ships will be floating sensors, capable of sailing ahead of the fleet to detect threats early. The larger drone ships would have offensive capabilities as well.
Furthermore, Defense News reminded of another US Navy experimental drone ship, the Sea Hunter:
“All of this comes as the Navy’s experimental drone ship, the Sea Hunter, has reportedly gone from a very public development program to a classified secret program. We know that Sea Hunter is 132 feet long and displaces 140 tons. A trimaran, it is capable of traveling at up to 27 knots while carrying 20,000 pounds of cargo. Two years ago, the Navy proudly touted Sea Hunter and boasted the ship would travel up and down the West Coast testing the unmanned-ship concept. Recently National Defense reported that Sea Hunter was now a secret program under the control of the Office of Naval Research. As such, the Navy would no longer comment on Sea Hunter’s progress.”
“Dad – there is a big ship with a big American flag, making repetitive sounds like USA, USA, USA”
“Shut up lad, no there isn’t”.
“Dad, can’t you see it or hear it, IT IS THERE”
“OK lad, where ?”
“There it has a big sign saying Stealth; and it seems to be mating with that tanker”
An unmanned sailing device is probably the least defensible thing ever created.
Destroying such a vehicle is a simple matter of destroying errant property.
No moral dilemma, no lives lost, just a simple case of perceived trespassing and destruction. Perhaps without any indication of the assailants’ identity.
Just crap as the one I wrote from You a few seconds ago.
You have no idea about what it is, apart from its american and therefore bad.
As long as you feel better, whatever you say.
Technology in any field of engineering eventually matures, motor vehicle technology matured decades ago, today they just ad gadgets to differentiate one brand from another.
Ships being much older matured long ago. Outriggers were devised to allow more sail on a small keeled boat.
So why the outrigger, is it wind powered? Americans would put tits on a bull, just to be different.