Navy Fast-Tracks 7 New Ocean Drone Prototypes

DARPA image – Sea Hunter drone

Warrior Video Above: USS Zumwalt Commander Capt. Carlson Describes Riding the Stealthy Ship in Stormy Seas

By Kris Osborn – Warrior Maven

(Washington, D.C.) A coordinated fleet of Navy drone boats could test and penetrate enemy defenses, launch forward-operating attacks across large areas of ocean, clear mines, attack submarines and use emerging AI to rapidly adjust to changing war circumstances.

Perhaps of utmost significance, a large fleet of integrated surface and undersea drones can network to one another, massively expanding the reach and effectiveness of sensors, weapons and air-sea coordination. This kind of desired tactical advantage forms the basis for the Navy’s Ghost Fleet Overlord project, a multi-year technical initiative to engineer a “fleet” of coordinated unmanned systems, intended to give warzone decision-makers crucial combat sensitive information amid life-threatening, dangerous exchanges of fire.

It is within this war context that the Navy is accelerating as many as seven new prototype Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV) to the fleet over just the next few years.

The now on-the-way drones include two large submarine-hunting Sea Hunter drones, four vessels designed to support Overlord and one new Medium USV, Navy weapons developers said.