In a move to proof of concept the idea that a transiting naval ship can be defended from potential small boat attacks, the Navy ran an excercise in which they used a baker’s dozen small craft to run interference for a surface ship on the move. While not revolutionary– it’s the concept of a carrier battle group in miniature– the fact that the small boats were all unmanned was.
“The Arlington-based Office of Naval Research demonstrated the autonomous swarm boat technology over two weeks in August on the James River near Fort Eustis in Virginia — not far from one of the Navy’s largest fleet concentration areas. It said the Navy simulated a transit through a strait, just like the routine passage of U.S. warships through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
In the demonstrations, as many as 13 small unmanned patrol boats were escorting a high-value Navy ship. Then as many as eight of the self-guided vessels broke off and swarmed around a threat when a ship playing the part of an enemy vessel was detected, the office said, calling the demonstrations a success.”
An unmanned 11-meter rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) from Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock operates autonomously in Newport News, Va. John F. Williams / Navy via AP
While I cant see your typical tin can using something like this, ships with lots of deck and well space (gators, LCS, etc) could make good use of these in a deployed situation for sea control. Also, you could preposition flotillas of these floating drones in choke points and pirate held waters, with the sailors who are manning them either remotely linked in or circling above in a control aircraft (converted P-3?). Kinda neat overall.
