Navy’s robo-ship quartet completes 5-month exercise sailing the Pacific
As the USVs returned to homeport, DefenseScoop was briefed on the Navy’s completion of Integrated Battle Problem 23.2.
BY
BRANDI VINCENT
JANUARY 16, 2024
The Navy’s latest, five-month exercise to test and refine maritime drone concepts for future fleet operations — which is coming to a close this week — has demonstrated what it will take for the sea service to integrate and maintain uncrewed surface vessels in expeditionary environments moving forward, according to Cmdr. Jeremiah Daley.
Daley leads Unmanned Surface Vessel Division One (USVDIV-1), the team that operates the four USV prototypes that recently transited the Pacific Ocean with mostly autonomous navigation via the Navy’s Integrated Battle Problem 23.2.
While the exercise’s two medium-sized USVs, Sea Hunter and Sea Hawk, are still trailing behind to complete some final routine operations, Daley returned with a small crew and the larger Mariner and Ranger USVs to homeport Naval Base Ventura County in California on Monday. He briefed reporters about the latest updates and takeaways from the exercise during a call on Tuesday, marking its unofficial completion.
“We’ve learned a lot [about] how we’re going to conduct operations, and then loads of different technical, smaller specifics on how we’re going to not just do the future fight — but how we’re going to develop the technology in a more efficient way, and mature technology in a more efficient way,” Daley explained.
https://defensescoop.com/2024/01/16/navys-robo-ship-quartet-completes-5-month-exercise-sailing-the-pacific/
