"Unmanned attack boats will soon boost Navy’s fleet" by Brock Vergakis | Associated Press October 06, 2014
NORFOLK, Va. — Self-guided unmanned patrol boats that can leave the warships they are protecting and attack potential threats on the water could join the Navy’s fleet within a year, defense officials say, adding that the new technology could one day help stop attacks like the deadly 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen.
Really?
Related: The USS Cole bombing against the backdrop of Israeli "Black Propaganda" Operations
Did you also know that Israel did 9/11?
Also see (if you like cover story crapola and good fiction):
Judge in USS Cole case denies conflict
Suspect in 1998 bombings pleads to lesser charges
Nice acting jobs.
The Office of Naval Research demonstrated the autonomous swarm-boat technology over two weeks in August on the James River near Fort Eustis in Virginia, not far from one of the Navy’s largest fleet concentration areas.
It said the Navy simulated a transit through a strait that was just like the routine passage of US warships through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
In the demonstrations, as many as 13 small unmanned patrol boats were escorting a high-value Navy ship. Then as many as eight of the self-guided vessels broke off and swarmed around a threat when a ship playing the part of an enemy vessel was detected, the office said, calling the demonstrations a success.
I hope they didn't phony up the tests like we have seen so often to get a project through.
Robert Brizzolara, program manager at the Office of Naval Research, said the boats can decide for themselves what movements to make once they are alerted to a threat and work together to encircle or block the path of an opposing vessel, depending on that vessel’s movements and those of other nearby vessels.
The rigid-hull inflatable patrol boats can also fire .50-caliber machine guns if called upon to do so. However, a human will always be the one to make the decision to use lethal force, officials said.
Oh, that makes me feel loads better. A murderous check on the trigger, great.
A sailor on a command ship would be in charge of each of the unmanned boats and could take control over any of the boats at any moment. And if communication between the unmanned boats and the sailor overseeing them was broken, the boat would automatically shut down.
That wouldn't be good, would it?
I mean, an enemy could come up with a way to jam communications and go right by the boats. Well, at least some war-profiteering contractor will get rich!
‘‘I never want to see the USS Cole happen again,’’ said Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, chief of naval research, speaking about the Oct. 12, 2000, attack by a small boat packed with explosives that killed 17 sailors and injured 39 on that warship. ‘‘I can tell you the systems we just put out on the water would’ve prevented the Cole.’’
Uh-huh.
Brizzolara said the technology is intended to allow sailors who would ordinarily be manning such boats to stay out of harm’s way while the self-guided boats seek to ‘‘deter, damage, or destroy’’ enemy vessels.
It's the future a la Terminator!
Talk about mass mind manipulation and preparation for the future.
Officials said that although the Cole bombing was not the sole inspiration for the program, it was a significant one. Researchers have been working on the technology for a decade.
Related: Spy Satellite Shit and Rods From God
Over ten years ago.
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Klunder said that manpower can sometimes be an issue as to why more patrol boats are not escorting larger ships, and that potential enemies may try to outnumber those boats. He said such technology could put more protective boats in the water, freeing up sailors for key roles aboard ship.
‘‘We’ve really put our sailors back where they need to be anyway, which is back manning our combat systems, manning our weapons systems, steering our ships,’’ Klunder said.
He said the technology should be rolled out to fleet commanders within a year.
--more--"
Also see:
The Drone Wars: Pakistan
The Drone Wars: Yemen
The Drone Wars: Iraq
The Drone Wars: Libya
The Drone Wars: Somalia
You can add Afghanistan and Syria to the list.
The Drone Wars: 21st-Century Red Barron
The Drone Wars: Domestic $urveillance
Drone planes, drone boats, drone cars, what's next, drone robots?
"A soft, wearable exoskeleton under construction has received a $2.9 million shot of funding from DARPA, the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency, Harvard University and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Design announced Thursday. Also, New Balance, Boston maker of 3D printed shoes, will be a collaborator on the “wearable robot” project going forward. Departments within the military are developing other designs with similar goals, the the Navy’s FORTIS suit is one among them."
Related:
Race is on to perfect solar-powered drones
Bezos turns to Boeing-Lockheed venture for foothold in space
Drones in space?
