Page 6 - ADT NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2023 Online Magazine

Vehicles (MUSVs), and Extra-Large Unmanned taken commercial ocean-going vessels and integrated both com-
Undersea Vehicles (XLUUVs). The Navy’s pro- mercially-available and government-provided equipment on board
posed FY2022 budget requests US$434.1million to create unmanned surface vessels. Phase II of the Ghost Fleet
in research and development funding for these Overlord programme, which focuses on the integration of govern-
large UVs and their enabling technologies. ment-furnished command-and-control systems and payloads and
more complex and challenging naval operations experimentation,
Meanwhile, a Ghost Fleet Overlord unmanned began last September. The SCO has transitioned its two Ghost Fleet
surface vessel, part of a partnership between Overlord prototypes to the Surface Development Squadron One in
the U.S. Defence Department’s Strategic 2021. The Navy is currently acquiring two more Ghost Fleet Overlord
Capabilities Office (SCO) and the Navy, made prototypes to accompany the two SCO built to continue unmanned
to the sea travelling a distance of more than systems testing and fleet experimentation. In 2021, the U.S. Naval
4,700 nautical miles, almost entirely autono- Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) also announced the creation
mously. Afterward, it participated in exercise of Task Force 59.
Dawn Blitz where it again spent nearly all of its
underway time operating autonomously.
During a training exercise with friendly navies, the Task Force 59 inte-
“This is a historic milestone for the pro- grated and evaluated the new Man-Portable Tactical Autonomous
gramme and the Navy. It represents Systems (MANTAS) T12 USV that operated alongside manned U.S.
what SCO does best: integrate mature patrol craft and Bahrain Defence Force maritime assets.
technologies to accelerate service pri-
orities and create new capabilities for “Working with our regional partners on unmanned
our warfighters,’’ systems integration is crucial to enhancing collective
Jay Dryer, director of the SCO said. maritime domain awareness,”
said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central
The Ghost Fleet Overlord programme is part Command. The MANTAS T-12 possesses advanced capabilities
of an effort to accelerate the Navy’s push to compared to its predecessors. It is intended to serve the intelligence,
incorporate autonomous vessels within its fleet surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions of the naval forces.
to better expand the reach of manned vessels.
Autonomy includes more than just straight-line The USV measures 361cm (142in) long, 91.5cm (36in) wide and 36cm
passage through large areas of the ocean; it (14in) high. It has a draft of 18cm (7in), a maximum craft weight of
also involves such things as collision avoidance 95kg (210lb), and can carry up to 63.5kg (140lb) of payload.
and following the rules of the sea.
Royal Navy Investing in USVs
To help the Navy advance its goal to incorpo-
rate autonomous vessels within the fleet, the The UK Ministry of Defence also had awarded Maritime Tactical
SCO’s Ghost Fleet Overlord programme has Systems (MARTAC), the Florida-based developer of modular

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