Navy patrols Va. waters with unmanned vessel

By Hugh Lessig - Daily Press via AP

HAMPTON, Va. — The patrol boat wasn’t kidding.

“You are in a restricted area. Your identity is unknown and your intentions are unclear.”

Blaring a warning, it moved to intercept an intruding vessel, making it clear that any further incursion would be a bad idea.

No sailor was harmed in this encounter. In fact, no sailor had to lift a finger.

The Navy is advancing its development of Autonomous Maritime Navigation, using unmanned craft that can patrol waterways and ports without humans at the helm — and without humans at the joystick, for that matter.

Using technology adapted from NASA’s Mars Rover, these unmanned boats are more like guard dogs than explorers, maneuvering independently through the water, gathering intelligence and serving as the Navy’s eyes and ears — and occasionally, its voice.

The concept hasn’t been used in theater, but these unmanned craft operate less expensively than traditional boats that require sailors — who require salaries and health benefits. They are likely to get a close look as the Pentagon faces unprecedented pressure to cut its budget.

On Wednesday, the Navy took to the waters off Fort Monroe to demonstrate just how this concept might work in the real world. It was part of Trident Warrior 11, a Navy-wide series of experiments directed by U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

“We’ve been doing some of these things for the past couple of years,” said Capt. Carl Conti of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, who led a mock “intruder” boat with a crew of curious reporters toward the unmanned crafts.

Last year in San Diego, unmanned boats escorted an incoming tugboat that was pretending to be a submarine coming into port. On Wednesday, the experiment was a bit different.

“We’re looking at protecting a harbor — a point in space,” he said. The unmanned boats were not armed, but that could change one day. Conti said the boats could use flash-bang grenades or other non-lethal deterrents. Even the simple act of intercepting an unknown craft has strategic advantages.

“You can force them to show intent,” he said. “Now they’ve shown that intent, they’re far enough away from you that you can respond, and now you’re not putting people in harm’s way.”

Is it possible to put deadly weapons on an “autonomous” ship?

Yes, Conti said, but in that case, the trigger would be pulled by a sailor sitting at a remote location. The boat’s brain wouldn’t make that decision. Four unmanned vessels were involved in Wednesday’s exercise, although some had small crews onboard as safety observers. The boats were equipped with multiple sensors and stood at varying lengths. Two were government-owned, one was from Northrop Grumman and the fourth was a commercial vessel from Textron/AAI Corporation.

But it isn’t about the boat. The technological brain that turns a boat from manned to unmanned can be fitted onto a variety of crafts. The NASA-adapted component is roughly the size of a small fridge.

"We take technology paid for by U.S. citizens, and just modify it and integrate it into boats," said Eric Hansen, primary investigator for Naval Surface Warfare Center Combatant Craft Division.

The biggest problem, Hansen said, is not getting from Point A to Point B or following a script. That’s a sub-set of the larger problem, which is just figuring out how to keep the craft “alive,” Hansen said.

Adapting the technology has been “relatively difficult,” Hansen said. “It always looks easy — until you try to do it.”

The key, said Hansen, was to get personnel out in the water on a constant basis to find out what they didn’t know, what he called “riding the robot.”

How long before unmanned boats make their debut in a combat zone? Perhaps in a few years, Hansen said, although the date isn’t set.

Trident Warrior 11 is not an exercise, it’s an experiment, Conti said. Among the factors it wants to examine: just how the information moves from the unmanned craft to the command centers, and how much data to send without it being overwhelming.

It is also about keeping one’s eyes open.

"In an exercise, you have an outcome you want to get to,” Conti said. “In an experiment, you don’t know what’s going to happen."