Page 68: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2023)

TECH FEATURE: AUTONOMY

Photos courtesy Dave Meron

International Efforts Accelerate the Development of Unmanned

Maritime Systems

By George Galdorisi ew would argue that unmanned systems represent that many nations and navies have been experimenting with one of the breakthrough technologies that could lead unmanned surface vehicles. to a revolution in military affairs. Until recently, at- International Maritime Exercise 2022 (IMX 22) held in the

Ftention has focused on unmanned aerial systems and Arabian Gulf and led by Commander Task Force 59 focused unmanned ground systems due to the fact that the wars in Iraq on the integration of manned and unmanned vessels and in- and Afghanistan saw a rapid growth in their development and cluded operations with a number of regional partners. Navies use. Today, unmanned maritime systems have begun to take and Coast Guards of several nations worked to fully explore center stage. the capabilities of unmanned systems such as the Saildrone,

Today, unmanned maritime systems have begun to take cen- the MARTAC MANTAS and Devil Ray, and many other ter stage for reasons that are clear. Like their air and ground USVs from participating nations. counterparts, these unmanned maritime systems are valued The Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, because of their ability to reduce the risk to human life in high Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, noted: “The Navy has been work- threat areas, to deliver persistent surveillance over areas of ing with manufacturers to test new technologies, including interest, and to provide options to war? ghters that derive from ? rms such as Saildrone and MARTAC under a contractor- the inherent advantages of unmanned technologies. owned, contractor-operated model. Sixty nations are partici-

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought new attention to pating in IMX 22. It is the largest unmanned exercise in the the value of using unmanned systems in con? ict. While there world…We’re taking off-the-shelf emerging technology in are many stories that have been generated regarding this con- unmanned and coupling with arti? cial intelligence and ma- ? ict, as well as some nascent lessons learned, one of the most chine learning to bring new capabilities to the region.” prominent is how Ukraine has been able to use unmanned sur- IMX 22 was not a “one-of.” Rather, manned-unmanned in- face vehicles to attack Russian ships. tegration operations in the Arabian Gulf continued. In October

The attack on the Russian Navy in the port of Sevastopol 2022, the United Kingdom and the United States held joint in October 2022, as well as subsequent attacks on Russian exercises in the Arabian Gulf in the wake of Iran’s seizure vessels as brought new attention to the capabilities of these of a U.S. Navy Saildrone USV. The United States and its al- unmanned maritime systems, and will likely spur the devel- lies want a force of 100 unmanned surface vessels patrolling opment of USVs by many nations and navies. But lost in the waters from the Red Sea to the Arabian Gulf by the end of breathless daily reporting of the con? ict in Ukraine is the fact this year. 68 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • November 2023

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