US Navy to build £330m world’s largest robot warship to patrol the most dangerous seas
In February 2018 we posted:THE US Navy wants to build a fleet of ten robot warships over the next five years.The huge ships referred to as Large Unmanned Surface Vehicles (LUSVs) would function as scouts for the main battle fleet, carrying radar and sonar as well as anti-air and cruise missiles.
The vessels will mostly carry out “3D work” – dull, dirty and dangerous.
A document shared with potnetial contractors, posted on the FedBizOpps website, said: “The LUSV will be a high-endurance, reconfigurable ship able to accommodate various payloads for unmanned missions to augment the Navy’s manned surface force.
“With a large payload capacity, the LUSV will be designed to conduct a variety of warfare operations independently or in conjunction with manned surface combatants.
'LIGHT FRIGATE'
“The LUSV will be capable of semi-autonomous or fully autonomous operation, with operators in-the-loop (controlling remotely) or on-the-loop (enabled through autonomy).”
The US Navy hopes to build two ships a year, costing £330million per pair, over five years, according to US Naval Institute News.
Each ship would be about 200 to 300ft in length with a displacement of about 2,000 tonnes.
The ships are described as essentially “a light frigate” and will also have some limited accommodation for a human crew, if necessary.
The plan is to have the ships as generally unarmed but with the ability to carry missiles if needed.
LUSVs will also be capable of acting as floating scouts, sailing ahead of manned ships to detect threats early....MORE
The U.S. Navy Just Took Delivery of the World’s Largest Roboship
From Popular Mechanics:
The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of a revolutionary uncrewed surface ship, one capable of traveling long distances and conducting missions all without a human on board. The Sea Hunter Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel—or ACTUV for short—could someday lead to fleets of unmanned warships plying the world’s oceans, doing everything from hunting submarines to acting as spy ships.But that is basically just coastal patrol boat size prompting the follow-up post:
The U.S. Navy ordered the ACTUV in 2012 as part of the Pentagon’s broader push into unmanned air, sea, and land systems. It was envisioned as a platform to test the autonomous concept in surface ships, explore how to safely and securely operate unmanned ships for months at a time over thousands of nautical miles, and create a vessel capable of tracking enemy diesel-electric submarines.
Built at the Christensen Shipyards in Vancouver, Washington, the 132 foot long, 140 ton ship is the world’s largest uncrewed ship. The pilothouse, necessary for a human crew to control the ship, can be unbolted and removed. The ACTUV has a single hull with two outrigger floats to enhance stability at sea, and has a maximum reported speed of 27 knots. From above the ship looks like a Klingon Warbird, its hull and two floats slicing through the water, leaving three wakes....MORE
Global Race To Develop Self-Navigating Ships Leaves U.S. Behind
