The U.S. Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command has found a body of water it feels is suitable for a permanent test and training range, which would include unmanned systems of all types — the Gulf of Mexico.
 
The meteorology command, based at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, recently wrapped up a series of unmanned systems tests in the Gulf just off nearby Gulfport, which involved air vehicles, surface vehicles and underwater systems.
 
The tests included a series of scenarios, or demonstration vignettes, as the Navy calls them, including harbor survey, beach approaches for humanitarian relief, wide area surveys, mission command and control and others.
 
They were conducted over the past few months and culminated in a public demonstration and briefing in June, held at the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center.
 
The mission of the meteorology command is both simple and complex. The command provides environmental information “to help Naval and joint forces operate more safely and effectively, and make better decisions faster than the enemy,” according to the Navy.
 
That includes a wide variety of activities, from mapping the sea floor to finding mines to analyzing water clarity and flow to measuring and predicting tides.
 
When these things aren’t done, bad things can happen. Cmdr. Bryan Black, a naval oceanographer and one of the briefers at the public event, said that when the U.S. Marines attacked Tarawa Atoll during World War II, their landing craft were bogged down by low tide, forcing Marines to wade ashore while under fire. Many died from drowning or being shot.
 
“We lost a lot of Marines that drowned because we didn’t have the correct data,” he said.
 
The command uses a large variety of unmanned systems in its quest to avoid such incidents in the future. As of the end of 2016, the command had conducted more than 1,500 autonomous underwater vehicle missions taking up more than 15,000 hours and that’s not even counting its surface vehicles and aircraft, which include AeroVironment Puma and Insitu ScanEagle UAS, various smaller quadrotors and a Griffon Aerospace SeaHunter UAS.
 
One interesting finding the command learned in conducting its vignettes was that it didn’t really understand its own backyard. In conducting a harbor survey near Gulfport, the command found some sunken objects it didn’t expect, including a fishing boat.
 
Chris Coward, division director at the Naval Oceanographic Office, said the vignette found 117 objects on the harbor floor that were catalogued, so in the event the area is walloped by another hurricane, there is a standard of comparison for “what changed? Do we have more objects in the water?”
 
The ability to have a “gold standard” measure of comparison is one reason why the meteorological command would like to set up a permanent test range in the Gulf.
 
John Meyer, XXX, said the Navy would like to fully map the Gulf of Mexico, as it has learned from its recent efforts that the existing maps aren’t reliable. They wouldn’t release the results, however, as a way to verify the accuracy of the systems that could be tested and trained on there.
 
“You don’t want to give the test answers before the test,” he said.
 
A team from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Rhode Island took part in the vignettes and is now studying the idea of creating a permanent test site and training range in the Gulf. There are still hurdles to be crossed: The meteorological command will need to go through environmental studies, cost assessments, feasibility studies and the like.
 
However, Adm. Tim Gallaudet, who heads the command, says the recent demonstrations have convinced him it’s a good idea and one that could have momentum.
 
“I’m really pleased with this first step out of the gate,” he told Unmanned Systems after making a speech at a technology fair held in Gulfport after the demonstrations.
 
Asked when a test range might be a reality, he said, “I think fairly soon. We’re working with Senator Wicker’s staff, and the president has proposed a 2018 budget … I know the Navy has proposed growth in unmanned systems and undersea warfare capabilities that we do. If the Congress approves that, we could be ready next year.”
 
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant also spoke at the tech fair, and signed an executive order creating the Governor’s Ocean Task Force, will develop a master plan and find key partnerships and resources to promote ocean science and technology in the state. It’s modeled on the federal Task Force Ocean, created by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson. 
 
“That warm, shallow water that is there has unlimited potential in it,” he said of the Gulf of Mexico.