Maritime Autonomy: Navy Task Force Charts Course for Future of Unmanned Systems.

• Author: Easley, Mikayla

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates--Over the last three decades, unmanned aerial vehicles have become a mainstay in modern warfare. Now, the Navy is leveraging emerging autonomous technology to change the tides of maritime operations in the same way.

The Navy's 5th Fleet--which operates in the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean --has been spearheading experiments focused on unmanned surface vessels and artificial intelligence as part of a specialized group called Task Force 59.

The harsh and inhospitable waterways of the Middle East offer ideal conditions to test and mature unmanned surface vessels that can be integrated into naval operations, said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and commander of the 5th Fleet. At the same time, nearby adversaries present threats to the security of critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

"It's 8,000 kilometers from Suez all the way around the Arabian Peninsula into the North Arabian Gulf. ... The Red Sea alone is just about the length of the U.S. Eastern Seaboard," he said during a presentation at the International Defence Exhibition, or IDEX, in Abu Dhabi. "That's a lot of water to cover for enhanced maritime security. No navy acting alone can cover this vast region. It's simply not possible."

Hence, Task Force 59 is working with its partners and allies in the Middle East like the United Arab Emirates to establish a multi-national surface vessel fleet, Cooper said.

The vision is to integrate 100 robotic boats into everyday maritime operations by the end of summer 2023--a goal that the group is nearly halfway done accomplishing, he added.

"Momentum continues to build as we quickly discover the enormous value unmanned and AI systems have in expanding our collective capabilities," he said. "We believe integration efforts will enhance regional information sharing and, ultimately, maritime threat evasion."

In terms of how the vessels contribute to daily maritime operations, the USVs are crucial force multipliers for navies in the region, said Juma Al Kaabi, CEO of ADASI, an autonomous systems company based in the United Arab Emirates.

"Autonomous systems will allow ships to move farther and stay out longer," Al Kaabi said during a panel at IDEX. "Also, the advantage is that you don't need to forecast for humans and crews onboard these ships."

As the Gulf's waterways become increasingly complex...