Sea Hunter

Sea Hunter
Sea Hunter
Sea Hunter gets underway on the Willamette River following a christening ceremony in Portland, Oregon in April 2016.
History
United States
Name: Sea Hunter
Builder: Vigor Industrial
Acquired: April 2016
Status: Sea trials
General characteristics
Type: unmanned surface vehicle
Displacement:

135 tons (standard)

145 tons (full load)
Length: 132 ft (40 m)
Propulsion: Diesel
Speed: 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range: 10,000 nautical miles (12,000 mi; 19,000 km)
Complement: None
Armament: None

The Sea Hunter is an autonomous unmanned surface vehicle (USV) launched in 2016 as part of the DARPA Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program.[1] It was christened 7 April 2016 in Portland, Oregon. It was built by Vigor Industrial.[2] The vessel continues the line of experimental "Sea" ships, including the Sea Shadow, Sea Fighter, and Sea Slice.[3]

Description

The initially unarmed prototype, built at a cost of twenty million dollars, is a 132-foot (40 meter)-long trimaran (a central hull with two outriggers). It is an unmanned self-piloting craft with twin screws, powered by two diesel engines with a top speed of 27 knots (31 mph; 50 km/h). Its weight is 135 tons, including 40 tons of fuel, adequate for a 70-day cruise. Cruising range is "transoceanic,"[2] 10,000 nautical miles (12,000 mi; 19,000 km) at 12 knots (14 mph; 22 km/h).[4] Sea Hunter has a full load displacement of 145 tons and is intended to be operational through Sea State 5, waves up to 6.5 ft (2.0 m) high and winds up to 21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h), and survivable through Sea State 7, seas up to 20 ft (6.1 m) high.[5]

A removable operator control station is installed during the testing period "for safety and backup" until it can be determined to reliably operate on its own. Operationally, computers will drive and control the ship, with a human always observing and taking charge if necessary in a concept called Sparse Supervisory Control, meaning a person is in control, but not "joy sticking" the vessel around.[5] It can patrol without human guidance, using optical guidance and radar to avoid hitting obstacles or other watercraft.[6] The ship has a host of non-standard features because of its lack of crew, including an internal layout that offers enough room for maintenance to be performed but not for any people to be permanently present.[3]

It is expected to undergo two years of testing before being placed in service with the U.S. Navy. If tests are successful, future such craft may be armed and used for anti-submarine and counter-mine duties, operating at a small fraction of the cost of operating a destroyer,[6] $15,000-$20,000 per day compared to $700,000 per day;[7] it could operate with Littoral Combat Ships, becoming an extension of the LCS ASW module.[5] Deputy US Defense Secretary Robert Work said that if weapons are added to the ship, a human would always remotely make the decision to use lethal force.[8]

Sea trials

On 22 June 2016, Sea Hunter completed initial performance trials, meeting or surpassing all performance objectives for speed, maneuverability, stability, seakeeping, acceleration/deceleration, fuel consumption, and mechanical systems reliability in the open-ocean. Upcoming trials will include testing of sensors, the vessel's autonomy suite, compliance with maritime collision regulations, and proof-of-concept demonstrations for a variety of U.S. Navy missions.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Vincent, James (8 April 2016). "The US Navy's new autonomous warship is called the Sea Hunter". The Verge. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 Njus, Elliot (7 April 2016). "The military's Oregon-built drone ship is headed to California". The Oregonian. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 DARPA’s Autonomous Sub-Tracker - Copybook.com.Military, 11 April 2016
  4. ↑ Pellerin, Cheryl (8 April 2016). "Work: Robot warship demonstrates advances in autonomy, human-machine collaboration" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Christopher P. Cavas (7 April 2016). "Unmanned Sub-Hunter To Begin Test Program". Defense News. Gannett. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  6. 1 2 Stewart, Phil (8 April 2016). "U.S. military christens self-driving 'Sea Hunter' warship". Reuters. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  7. ↑ ACTUV Sea Trials Set for Early 2016 - Science.DoDlive.mil, 9 November 2015
  8. ↑ Westcott, Lucy (8 April 2016). "Meet Sea Hunter, the U.S.Navy's robotic, self-driving warship". Newsweek. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  9. ↑ Leidos completes initial performance tests of highly autonomous Unmanned Surface Vessel - Navyrecognition.com, 27 July 2016

See also


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