Navy Tests Swarming Unmanned Boats

Photo courtesy Office of Naval Research.

by Marc Selinger



The Office of Naval Research recently announced that it achieved a “breakthrough” for swarming technology during a demonstration with small unmanned boats.



To prepare for the test, ONR installed sensors and software on existing Navy manned patrol craft to convert them to unmanned surface vehicles. During the demonstration itself, the USVs escorted a “high-value” ship and then encircled a threat-representative vessel to block it from the high-value asset. As many as 13 unmanned boats — five autonomous, eight remote-controlled — participated at one time. 



Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, chief of naval research, told reporters 30 Sept. that the technology could have prevented the October 2000 deadly terrorist attack on the USS Cole, in which a small boat detonated explosives near the destroyer off the coast of Yemen.



“If we had had this capability there on that day, I’m sure we would have saved that ship,” Klunder said.



The two-week test occurred in August on the James River in Newport News, Virginia. While countering the “enemy” ship, the USVs activated nonlethal weapons, including flashing lights, blaring loud speakers and high-power microwaves. They did not fire their machine guns, because “we were not planning to destroy the target,” Klunder said. “We certainly could have done that if that was needed, but in this case, we just wanted to prove the swarming technology.”



The technology, called Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing (CARACaS), allows unmanned boats to plan their routes and sense and avoid each other. A single sailor can oversee the swarm. Klunder believes the technology ultimately could support even more USVs than the demonstration’s peak of 13.



“We see the future as certainly enabling 20, maybe even 30, if we needed those,” the admiral said.



Manned patrol craft currently protect high-value ships in ports and straits. Having USVs perform that function would allow the Navy to field more boats, take troops out of harm’s way and have those people do other tasks, according to ONR. Equipping each boat with CARACaS costs a “few thousand” dollars, which is “crazy affordable,” Klunder said. 



The Navy is discussing the technology’s future. Several issues still need to be ironed out, including how to transport such a large number of USVs to a deployment. But Klunder projected that the technology could become operational within a year. 



“This train is moving really fast,” he said.