Unmanned Technology News

The U.S. Navy on Wednesday sent an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) through the Strait of Hormuz as it ramps up its use of high-tech unmanned assets for patrols and monitoring at sea.The transit was reportedly the Navy's fist for a USV through the busy and strategically important strait, demonstrating the continued operational integration of unmanned and artificial intelligence systems by U.S. maritime forces in the Middle East.The L3 Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13 USV was accompanied by a pair of Sentinel-class Coast Guard cutters…

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and United Arab Emirates electronic firm Marakeb Technologies, have agreed to form a global partnership in the field of autonomous technology.The agreement was signed by Basel Shuhaiber, Chief Executive Officer of Marakeb Technologies, and Giuseppe Giordo, General Manager of Fincantieri Naval Business at the 2020 Unmanned Systems Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi.The agreement is intended to initiate a cross-evaluation of Fincantieri’s current automation solutions and Marakeb Technologies’ patented unmanned technology, as well as to jointly develop applications on various vessel types in Fincantieri’s portfolio.The global partnership aspires to establish future commercial opportunities in regional and international markets…

Thomas Chance founded C & C Technologies in his home in 1992. Today C & C is a global oil field surveying and mapping company with more than 550 employees in ten offices worldwide. C & C was the first company in the world to offer autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) survey services to the oil industry and remains a world leader in the field. In April of 2015, he sold C & C Technologies to Oceaneering International. Complementing the autonomous underwater vehicle business, Mr. Chance started Autonomous Surface Vehicles, Ltd., or ASV, in 2010. ASV has 140 employees, four offices across the globe and has built more than 100 state-of-the-art unmanned boats for the defense and commercial sectors.

Thales is announcing a major commitment to develop future autonomous and unmanned technology across air and sea by investing in two new UK-based trials and training centers. Following Thales’s successful trials during the Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior exercise in 2016, Thales is now investing in two trials and training centres based in West Wales and in South-West England to test and develop autonomous systems for both military and civil activities. "Investing in these facilities enables the safe test…

BMT has launched VENARI-85, a new mine countermeasure (MCM) concept design said it be capable of clearing mines faster over a greater area and with less risk to the crew, while simultaneously providing broader utility to navies around the world. According to BMT, VENARI-85 offers a flexible platform that is capable of a spectrum of roles which is future-proofed and able to evolve as technology advances in the unmanned and offboard systems markets take shape. Combining BMT’s ship design pedigree with QinetiQ’s integration expertise…

The Surface Navy Association (SNA) concluded its 29th annual three-day symposium in Arlington, Virginia, Jan. 12. The symposium focused on distributed lethality to enable sea control and facilitated professional discussions between military members, industry representatives and lawmakers regarding surface warfare technology, tactics, training and career development. The first day commenced with welcomes, roundtable discussions and keynote addresses by Navy leaders, including Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William Moran and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Steven Giordano. Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden, commander, Naval Surface Forces/Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, detailed his new Naval Surface Force Strategy and related it to the symposium's objectives.

SeeByte, creator of smart software for unmanned maritime systems, said it will demonstrate software solutions for unmanned systems as part of the Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior exercise. The exercise will feature more than 50 vehicles, sensors and systems and aims to demonstrate never-seen-before capabilities in the field of autonomy and unmanned systems. SeeByte’s software forms the core components of the Hell Bay 4 and MCM Challenge elements of Unmanned Warrior. The aim of these exercises is to develop and push the capabilities of autonomous systems…

Navigating interesting times has the nation’s shipbuilding industry searching in unusual places. The answers could be blowing in the wind. Conducting commerce and forecasting the future for shipyards is akin to setting out in uncharted waters. For some, the voyage might prove to be easy sailing with favorable winds. Other times, it can be a rough ride, forcing long and unprogressive diversions. In the worst cases, one might run aground temporarily, hit rock bottom, capsize belly up, or be forced to turn around and give up.

Amsterdam hosted four different maritime conferences during week June 21-23, with two common exhibitions – all in the same RAI Conference & Exhibition Complex. The Autonomous Ship Technology Symposium, Electric & Hybrid Marine World Expo and Marine Maintenance World Expo and Conference were organized by UKIP Media & Events while the fourth, defense related, MAST (Maritime/Air Systems & Technologies) Conference and Exhibition was organized by MAST Communications. For an inaugural event…

Over the next decade the maritime sector is likely to see one of the largest changes since sail gave way to steam. Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) are now being considered for various marine roles and the drivers for rapid development are significant. Unmanned or autonomous vessels have passed through the trial and evaluation stage and are now being adopted for civilian and military applications. The maritime sector now has the opportunity to shape technology developments from legislative and end-user standpoints.

Last month, Swiftships Shipbuilders, LLC, in Morgan City, La., showcased the Anaconda-2 – an unmanned, 35-ft. craft in development – during a demonstration on the Atchafalaya River next to its HQ. The company partnered with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette more than a year ago to produce technology for a vessel that can navigate without a pilot aboard. Swiftships and ULL are designing a boat that uses Global Positioning System/sensory data, and has the potential to support naval, enforcement and zone-protection operations, mainly on inland waters.

U.S. Naval War College (NWC) students participate in a presentation & discussion of unmanned robotic systems with ReconRobotics, Inc. & Hydroid, Inc. This event was part of the "Unmanned Systems and Conflict in the 21st Century" course at NWC, serving as an opportunity for future decision makers to gain exposure and expand their knowledge of unmanned technologies. "It's important to be aware of advancements we're making now because they will change the strategic and operational environment of which our warfighters will be engaged in…

Rolls-Royce delivered the Axial Mk1 waterjet for the latest Freedom-variant of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) class, currently under construction for the U.S. Navy. This delivery marks the successful completion of the Office of Naval Research’s (ONR) Future Naval Capabilities (FNC) program for “Compact, High Power Density Waterjets”. This new  waterjet will now be standard equipment for all future Freedom variants of the Littoral Combat Ships supplied to the U.S. Navy by Lockheed Martin.

Rolls-Royce delivers advanced new Axial Mk1 waterjets for the latest US Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). Rolls-Royce Axial Mk1 waterjets are very power dense, delivering more cavitation-free performance for their size and power than any other waterjet. At 22MW of power, a single waterjet of this scale can move almost half a million gallons of seawater per minute. Four of these waterjets will propel the LCS at speeds in excess of 40 knots. This delivery marks the successful completion of the Office of Naval Research's (ONR) Future Naval Capabilities (FNC) program for “Compact…

What do we think of when we hear “Survival at Sea”? It usually brings up visions of a ship in a perilous situation confronting some extraordinary circumstances that might be life or death. We are now faced with an even more harrowing scenario- broaching of maritime information including specific details that might encompass company proprietary data as well as details of vessel schedules and particulars. Many of you have heard of recent cyber-attacks including Stuxnet that deliberately…