OCTOBER 12, 2022 – In an effort to increase the range and detection of various unmanned surface vessels (USVs), the Office of Naval Research (ONR)-sponsored SCOUT initiative recently conducted a unique demonstration event off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The event highlighted the capability of seven different USVs, ranging in size from five to 36 feet, demonstrating their ability to contribute to the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S) mission areas of rapid distributed logistics and hunting without maritime patrol aircraft. The Joint Prototyping and Experimentation and Maritime (JPEM) program executed the on–the-water demonstration from the STILETTO maritime experimentation craft.
The demonstration was attended by stakeholders across multiple commands, including U.S. Fleet Forces Command, II Marine Expeditionary Force, the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, the Unmanned Task Force, Navy Special Warfare Command, PEO Unmanned and Small Combatants, and Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Headquarters and Carderock.
ONR SCOUT is an ongoing, multiagency experimentation campaign for identifying alternative ways to bring unmanned technologies to warfighter problems, operationalize them and bring them to scale. SCOUT is committed to getting nontraditional, commercial-off-the-shelf, government-developed and/or government-sponsored technologies to the fleet rapidly.
“SCOUT is changing the way we solve warfighter problems,” said Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Lorin Selby. “We are rapidly conducting experiments and testing that will help our JIATF-S partners and ultimately help protect the United States from illicit drug trafficking.”
During the Virginia Beach event, the SCOUT and JPEM teams carried out technical and operational assessments of the USVs. They captured data from each vehicle, looking at the various payload capacities, range, speed and endurance to better inform the fleet; the science and technology and acquisition communities of the current state of these USVs; and which ones may be the best fit for the mission of interest.
The teams looked at capabilities and characteristics of the USVs that align to the JIATF-S problem sets — ultimately stopping illicit drug trafficking. With this data, the team will be able to provide a list of options for various USVs to help leaders decide which one is the best platform for a mission.
According to Dennis Danko, JPEM program manager, “this was a valuable opportunity for the USV developers to experience an ocean environment. Operating from STILETTO provided the developers, as well as the observers, a snapshot of the operational challenges of working in an open ocean environment, where the conditions can change from day-to day.”
John Phillips, who is from NSWC Carderock and was the ONR SCOUT lead for the Virginia Beach event, said, “The ONR SCOUT USV Sprint in the Norfolk fleet concentration area provided an opportunity to showcase the capability of small USVs, aligned to warfighter problems, to a contingent of naval stakeholders. The collaboration was amazing, and we are optimistic the data collected will assist in determining the best unmanned systems to perform various naval-specific missions.”
Now the logistics team is preparing for a larger event that will bring together several logistics-focused unmanned industry partners together to test their capabilities in an operational environment. SCOUT will partner with U.S. Fourth Fleet this month in a real-world demonstration in the JIATF-S area of operation near Key West, Florida.
“We’ve been planning this event for several months and look forward to seeing the various vessels and capabilities respond to missions in an operational environment,” said Chris Heagney, a Naval Air Systems Command fleet/force advisor supporting Fourth Fleet and ONR Global. “This event will bring everyone together to focus on adding new platforms and options to the Navy portfolio.”
The JIATF-S team remains optimistic as SCOUT efforts continue to help with their daily mission.
“Every day we are faced with multiple suspect vessels and illicit trafficking near and in the area of operations,” said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Duane Zitta, JIATF-S chief of operational demonstration and experimentation. “We need alternative capabilities and options that will help locate and detect suspect activity stop illegal movement to the United States.”
Story by Warren Duffie
Office of Naval Research