Page 18: of Marine Technology Magazine (July 2023)

AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

Photo courtesy Jack Rowley

Unmanned Maritime Systems

Development Accelerates

By Captain George Galdorisi here is little question that world militaries see events, but brie? y, these include S2ME2 ANTX, the Bold Al- the value of unmanned systems to complement ligator series, Valiant Shield, Dawn Blitz, Steel Knight, Val- their manned counterparts. The wars in Iraq and iant Shield, Trident Warrior, Coastal Trident, the Integrated

Afghanistan accelerated the development of un- Battle Problem series, and many others.

Tmanned aerial systems and unmanned ground In just the last year alone we saw International Maritime Ex- systems to meet urgent operational needs. Now, there is in- ercise, Autonomous Warrior, NATO Robotic Experimentation creasing interest in unmanned surface systems, resulting in and Prototyping Maritime Uncrewed Systems, Digital Hori- their placement on an accelerated development path. zon, Fifth Fleet Cutlass Express, Digital Shield, Integrated

Like their air and ground counterparts, these unmanned sur- Battle Problem, and BALTOPS, among others.

face systems are valued because of their ability to reduce the While it is dif? cult to single out one exercise as emblematic risk to human life in high threat areas, to deliver persistent as one that has accelerated unmanned surface system develop- surveillance over areas of interest, and to provide options to ment and that presages the future use of these USVs for a va- war? ghters that derive from the inherent advantages of un- riety of important military missions, Digital Horizon is a good manned technologies. exercise to unpack to understand the strides made with these

Taking these unmanned surface systems from the drawing systems. Here is how one analyst previewed this exercise: board to development and ? elding is not a trivial task. How- ever, it is one that has been quickened by a wide range of U.S. A ? otilla of unmanned ? oating sensor platforms is un- national and international exercises, experiments and demon- derway in the Arabian Gulf to help the U.S. Navy ? nd strations where these systems have been put in the hands of and respond to abnormal maritime activity … Digital operators who have provided valuable feedback that has led to Horizon is integrating 15 different types of unmanned iterative improvements in these systems. systems—10 of them operating with the U.S. 5th Fleet

Column space does not allow for a full review of all of these for the ? rst time—as well as communications, arti? - 18 July/August 2023

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