3.4 – Research Blog 2 – Unmanned Maritime Systems 

Today, the Unmanned Systems world is largely based, or at least largely recognized, as the industry that includes “drones” that fly in the air like the MQ-9, manufactured by General Atomics (Military, n.d.), or drones from Amazon that can deliver our all-important packages to your home (Shaban, 2018). But now there is a large focus being put on Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMS) both for the military and in the civilian sector.

The U.S. Navy is now ramping up operations to provide these type of UMV’s and has several projects that are being developed for the to the larges seagoing service in the world. According to Eckstein, 2017, key programs that he Navy ids working on include “Kingfish”, “Snakehead” and “ADARO” (Eckstein, 2017).

Kingfish

The Kingfish is an autonomous UMV will detect and classify buried mines and mines in high-clutter environments. On advantage of the Kingfish, that a majority of other UMV does not provide, is that it is not tethered to a control station or unit.

Snakehead 

The Snakehead is classified as a Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (LDUUV) (Berkof, 2018). Listed as ready for operations in 2020, the Snakehead is planned for two stages. Currently in phase one, the Navy is focusing on procuring subsystems, sensors, and materiel from numerous vendors across the U.S. (Berkof, 2018). Once complete, the Snakehead LDUUV will focus on intelligence and preparation of the environment (IPOE) and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission sets. Phase 2 would seek to add extended ranges to both missions (Eckstein, 2017).

ADARO 

The ADARO small unmanned surface vehicle, for example, is still in the initial development stage but is being tested by Naval Surface Warfare Center Combatant Craft in Norfolk. This vehicle, developed under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, is about three feet long and could assist special operators, explosive ordnance disposal technicians or Marines.

Sea Hunter 

 
 Figure 1. Sea Hunter. Retrieved from Naval Technology

Finally, there is the Sea Hunter. The Sea Hunter is a forty meter, one hundred and forty ton Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), continuous trail unmanned vessel (ACUV) (Naval, n.d.). The Sea Hunter in an autonomous unmanned vessel that is intended to track enemy diesel-electric submarines in shallow waters. It can also be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) tasks, unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) / UAV launch and recovery, and transportation of vehicles and running logistics of the US Navy (Naval. N.d.). The Sea Hunter is equipped with high-resolution stereo and 360° electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensor systems to ensure safe navigation and situational awareness during day/night lighting conditions. Long-range mid-frequency active-passive sonar aboard the vessel detects and classifies the targets (Naval, n.d.) Statistic for the Sea Hunter include a top speed of 27 knots and a range of ten thousand nautical miles when cruising at 12 knots.

Conclusion 

This advancement does makes sense, because with any unmanned system, regardless of the playing field, the technology saves lives and resources. Like an unmanned aircraft in combat, a ship out in the middle of the ocean that is unmanned becomes a vital asset if the ship can conduct mission without having crews onboard. An unmanned ship or Unmanned Maritime Vehicle (UMV) could potentially stay out longer because there ae no humans onboard requiring a resupply of items like food and water. Additionally, if an UMV encountered a hostile target of interest like a drug smuggling vessel, there would be no one onboard that could be harmed if it were to come under attack.

References 

Berkof, H. (2018, March 27). Expanding the Navy’s Unmanned Systems Portfolio: An Update. Retrieved from http://www.dsaic.org: https://www.dsiac.org/resources/journals/dsiac/winter-2018-volume-5-number-1/expanding-navys-unmanned-systems-portfolio

Eckstein, M. (2017). Navy racing to test, field unmanned maritime vehicles for future ships. USNI news. Retrieved from https://news.usni.org/2017/09/21/navy-racing-test-field-unmanned-maritime-vehicles-future-ships

Military.com. (n.d.). MQ-9 Reaper. Retrieved from https://www.military.com/equipment/mq-9-reaper

Naval Technology. (n.d.). Sea Hunter ASW Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV). Retrieved from https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/sea-hunter-asw-continuous-trail-unmanned-vessel-actuv/

Shaban, H. (2018). Amazon is issued patent for delivery drones that can react to screaming voices, flailing arms. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/03/22/amazon-issued-patent-for-delivery-drones-that-can-react-to-screaming-flailing-arms/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.658f9ade2c87

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