DOD's Autonomous Vessel Sails Through Transit Test, Participates in Exercise Dawn Blitz
Jan. 13, 2021 | BY C. Todd Lopez , DOD News
A Ghost Fleet Overlord unmanned surface vessel, part of a partnership between the Defense Department's Strategic Capabilities Office and the Navy, recently traveled a distance of more than 4,700 nautical miles, almost entirely autonomously. Afterward, it participated in exercise Dawn Blitz where it again spent nearly all of its underway time operating autonomously.
A boat moves through the water.
"This is a historic milestone for the program and the Navy. It represents what SCO does best: integrate mature technologies to accelerate service priorities and create new capabilities for our warfighters,'' Jay Dryer, director of the SCO said.
The Ghost Fleet Overlord program is part of an effort to accelerate the Navy's push to incorporate autonomous vessels within its fleet to better expand the reach of manned vessels. Autonomy includes more than just straight-line passage through large areas of the ocean; it also involves such things as collision avoidance and following the rules of the sea.
https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2471165/dods-autonomous-vessel-sails-through-transit-test-participates-in-exercise-dawn/
