Robo-ship from US Navy task force launches missiles in Middle East region
A USV operated by Task Force 59 successfully attacked a target boat with a “Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System” during an exercise last week, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
BY
JON HARPER
NOVEMBER 2, 2023
A Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System launches munitions from a MARTAC T-38 Devil Ray unmanned surface vehicle, attached to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s Task Force 59, during Exercise Digital Talon in the Arabian Gulf, Oct. 23. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Justin Stumberg)
An unmanned surface vessel operated by Task Force 59 successfully hit a target boat with a “Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System” during an exercise last week, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
The task force, which falls under 5th Fleet, has been using a variety of drones and artificial intelligence capabilities to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in the Middle East area of operations to monitor Iranian military assets and other activity. That includes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned surface vessels (USVs), unmanned underwater vessels (UUVs) and AI tools to enable computer vision, anomalous behavior detection, multi-system command and control, and edge intelligence
Now, the unit is testing its ability to launch weapons from robo-ships.
During a live firing exercise in the international waters near the Arabian Peninsula on Oct. 23, the task force showed that it could use an unmanned surface vessel to launch a loitering munition and hit what it was aiming for.
https://defensescoop.com/2023/11/02/robo-ship-from-us-navy-task-force-launches-missiles-in-arabian-gulf/
