US Navy Scales Up Unmanned Surface Vessels in the Middle East, Bolstering Internet Datalink To Control Them
(Photo : MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images)
US Navy forces are adding unmanned surface vessels with an internet data link that allows them to function independently, sold as a low-cost naval alternative.

The US Navy is increasing the number of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and linking them to an internet data link, a combination of robotic boats and artificial tools operating with Task Force 59, capable of catching weird activity for human operators.

Maritime Domain in the Gulf

The US Navy has established a network model to link its USVs and artificial intelligence tools to command center operators one year after the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet formed Task Force 59 to enhance maritime awareness in the overcrowded and highly susceptible waters, reported Defense News.

Additionally, the Navy will augment its stock of systems in the following month, 5th Fleet Vice Adm. Brad Cooper informed news outlets on October 12. With the aid of AI that would carry out tasks automatically, he added 8,000 ships that were active in some way, noted Yahoo! News.

To efficiently test commercially unmanned AI systems that could be integrated into maritime forces in the Middle East, Task Force 59 was formed in September 2021. The task force's staff cooperates with academia and industry to progress advanced technologies.

The staff collaborates with regional navies to connect this innovation to actual missions. Several Middle Eastern nations functioned as testing grounds for the robotic ship.

US Navy Plans Multinational Fleet 

Based on the US Navy's fifth fleet's plans, a global fleet of 100 unmanned surface vessels will be assembled before the summer. Cooper offered no additional details.

As he said, Bahrain and Kuwait already had pledged to buy USVs, or other participants in Task Force 59 demonstrations could soon follow before warmer months.

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An early version of the efficiency of USVs and AI tools operating together was Task Force 59's management of the International Maritime Exercise 2022 in February, according to Naval News.

In contrast to traditional manned patrol boats and frigates, he explained, such tools can effectively boost their coastline protection.

Cooper clarified that its goal would be to demonstrate to the region's alliances how these tools could boost their coastal security at a lower cost than traditional manned patrol boats and frigates, per DVIDS.

He added that these short cycles of remarkable progress in the systems and innovative solutions for these USVs and AI tools are remarkable, like an internet data link.

The USVs, which include Saildrone Explorer and MARTAC Devil Ray T38, have also experienced 60-to-90-day testing cycles.

Cooper references the United States' involvement of a communication network to share information in communications-restricted surroundings as an instance of even rapid iteration.

During an occasion with the United States and Saudi Arabia, the above crude connectivity has been evaluated at sea. A week afterward, Task Force 59 augmented this grid network based on hard lessons and re-evaluated it occasionally with both US and Jordan.

A week later, the US and Israel tested the next iteration. In an activity off the coast of Portugal, the US and NATO allies evaluated an even stronger version that would include the Starlink satellite internet.

He stated although Starlink doesn't have coverage inside the Middle East, a fresh cluster of satellite systems ought to be functional by the spring of 2019, at which juncture the broadband scope could be rapidly integrated into the Task Force 59 communication network.

The US Navy said its use of unmanned surface vessels and connecting them to an internet data-link mesh network.

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