United States Navy Employment Options for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs)

United States Navy Employment Options for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs)
Author: Scott Savitz
Publisher:
Total Pages: 119
Release: 2013
Genre: Remote control
ISBN: 9780833084699

This report assesses in what ways and to what degree unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) are suitable for supporting U.S. Navy missions and functions. It briefly characterizes the current and emerging USV marketplaces to provide a baseline for near-term capabilities, describes USV concepts of employment to support diverse U.S. Navy missions and functions, and evaluates these concepts of employment to identify specific missions and functions for which they are highly suitable. USVs offer several particular strengths relative to other platforms, including the ability to interact both above and below the waterline, enabling them to serve as critical nodes for cross-domain networks. They also have potentially longer endurance, larger payloads, and higher power outputs than comparably sized unmanned air or undersea vehicles. Additionally, their greater risk tolerance compared with manned systems makes them desirable platforms for overcoming adversaries' anti-access and area-denial measures. These strengths make USVs particularly suitable for missions such as characterizing the physical environment, observation and collection regarding adversaries, mine warfare, military deception/information operations/electronic warfare, defense against small boats, testing and training, search and rescue, and the support of other unmanned vehicles. However, USVs need advanced autonomy and assured communications to complete complex missions, as well as any missions in complex environments. Autonomous seakeeping and maritime traffic avoidance are USV-specific capabilities that likely need to be developed with U.S. Navy involvement. Also, optional manning and payload modularity can enhance the desirability of USV programs.

Navy Large Unmanned Surface and Undersea Vehicles

Navy Large Unmanned Surface and Undersea Vehicles
Author: Ronald O'Rourke
Publisher:
Total Pages: 30
Release: 2019-06-24
Genre:
ISBN: 9781075833274

The Navy wants to develop and procure three new types of unmanned vehicles (UVs) in FY2020 and beyond-Large Unmanned Surface Vehicles (LUSVs), Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicles (MUSVs), and Extra-Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (XLUUVs). The Navy is requesting $628.8 million in FY2020 research and development funding for these three UV programs and their enabling technologies. The Navy wants to acquire these three types of UVs (which this report refers to collectively as large UVs) as part of an effort to shift the Navy to a new fleet architecture (i.e., a new combination of ships and other platforms) that is more widely distributed than the Navy's current architecture. Compared to the current fleet architecture, this more-distributed architecture is to include proportionately fewer large surface combatants (i.e., cruisers and destroyers), proportionately more small surface combatants (i.e., frigates and Littoral Combat Ships), and the addition of significant numbers of large UVs. The Navy wants to employ accelerated acquisition strategies for procuring these large UVs, so as to get them into service more quickly. The emphasis that the Navy placed on UV programs in its FY2020 budget submission and the Navy's desire to employ accelerated acquisition strategies in acquiring these large UVs together can be viewed as an expression of the urgency that the Navy attaches to fielding large UVs for meeting future military challenges from countries such as China. The LUSV program is a proposed new start project for FY2020. The Navy wants to procure two LUSVs per year in FY2020FY2024. The Navy wants LUSVs to be low-cost, high-endurance, reconfigurable ships based on commercial ship designs, with ample capacity for carrying various modular payloads-particularly anti-surface warfare (ASuW) and strike payloads, meaning principally anti-ship and land-attack missiles. The Navy reportedly envisions LUSVs as being 200 feet to 300 feet in length and having a full load displacement of about 2,000 tons. The MUSV program began in FY2019. The Navy plans to award a contract for the first MUSV in FY2019 and wants to award a contract for the second MUSV in FY2023. The Navy wants MUSVs, like LUSVs, to be low-cost, high-endurance, reconfigurable ships that can accommodate various payloads. Initial payloads for MUSVs are to be intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) payloads and electronic warfare (EW) systems. The Navy defines MUSVs as having a length of between 12 meters (about 39 feet) and 50 meters (about 164 feet). The Navy wants to pursue the MUSV program as a rapid prototyping effort under what is known as Section 804 acquisition authority. The XLUUV program, also known as Orca, was established to address a Joint Emergent Operational Need (JEON). The Navy wants to procure nine XLUUVs in FY2020-FY2024. The Navy announced on February 13, 2019, that it had selected Boeing to fabricate, test, and deliver the first four Orca XLUUVs and associated support elements. On March 27, 2019, the Navy announced that the award to Boeing had been expanded to include the fifth Orca. The Navy's large UV programs pose a number of oversight issues for Congress, including issues relating to the analytical basis for the more-distributed fleet architecture; the Navy's accelerated acquisition strategies and funding method for these programs; technical, schedule, and cost risk in the programs; the proposed annual procurement rates for the programs; the industrial base implications of the programs; the personnel implications of the programs; and whether the Navy has accurately priced the work it is proposing to do in FY2020 on the programs.

Autonomous Vehicles in Support of Naval Operations

Autonomous Vehicles in Support of Naval Operations
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2005-08-05
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309181232

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been used in military operations for more than 60 years, with torpedoes, cruise missiles, satellites, and target drones being early examples.1 They have also been widely used in the civilian sector-for example, in the disposal of explosives, for work and measurement in radioactive environments, by various offshore industries for both creating and maintaining undersea facilities, for atmospheric and undersea research, and by industry in automated and robotic manufacturing. Recent military experiences with AVs have consistently demonstrated their value in a wide range of missions, and anticipated developments of AVs hold promise for increasingly significant roles in future naval operations. Advances in AV capabilities are enabled (and limited) by progress in the technologies of computing and robotics, navigation, communications and networking, power sources and propulsion, and materials. Autonomous Vehicles in Support of Naval Operations is a forward-looking discussion of the naval operational environment and vision for the Navy and Marine Corps and of naval mission needs and potential applications and limitations of AVs. This report considers the potential of AVs for naval operations, operational needs and technology issues, and opportunities for improved operations.

A Survey of Missions for Unmanned Undersea Vehicles

A Survey of Missions for Unmanned Undersea Vehicles
Author: Robert Button
Publisher: RAND Corporation
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2009
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Which military missions for unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) appear most promising to pursue in terms of military need, operational and technical risks, alternatives, and cost? To answer this question, the authors assess risks associated with using UUVs for advocated missions, identify non-UUV alternatives that may be more appropriate for such missions, and analyze potential costs associated with UUV development and use. They conclude that seven missions: mine countermeasures, deployment of leave-behind surveillance sensors or sensor arrays, near-land and harbor monitoring, oceanography, monitoring undersea infrastructure, anti-submarine warfare tracking, and inspection/identification - appear most promising. Among other recommendations, the authors suggest that the U.S. Navy consolidate its unmanned system master plans and establish relevant priorities in coordination with the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Increased emphasis on the use of surface platforms rather than submarines as host platforms is recommended.

Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans

Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans
Author: Ronald O'Rourke
Publisher:
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2020-11-14
Genre:
ISBN:

Updated 12/10/2020: In December 2016, the Navy released a force-structure goal that callsfor achieving and maintaining a fleet of 355 ships of certain types and numbers. The 355-shipgoal was made U.S. policy by Section 1025 of the FY2018 National Defense AuthorizationAct (H.R. 2810/P.L. 115- 91 of December 12, 2017). The Navy and the Department of Defense(DOD) have been working since 2019 to develop a successor for the 355-ship force-level goal.The new goal is expected to introduce a new, more distributed fleet architecture featuring asmaller proportion of larger ships, a larger proportion of smaller ships, and a new third tier oflarge unmanned vehicles (UVs). On December 9, 2020, the Trump Administration released a document that can beviewed as its vision for future Navy force structure and/or a draft version of the FY202230-year Navy shipbuilding plan. The document presents a Navy force-level goal that callsfor achieving by 2045 a Navy with a more distributed fleet architecture, 382 to 446 mannedships, and 143 to 242 large UVs. The Administration that takes office on January 20, 2021,is required by law to release the FY2022 30-year Navy shipbuilding plan in connection withDOD's proposed FY2022 budget, which will be submitted to Congress in 2021. In preparingthe FY2022 30-year shipbuilding plan, the Administration that takes office on January 20,2021, may choose to adopt, revise, or set aside the document that was released on December9, 2020. The Navy states that its original FY2021 budget submission requests the procurement ofeight new ships, but this figure includes LPD-31, an LPD-17 Flight II amphibious ship thatCongress procured (i.e., authorized and appropriated procurement funding for) in FY2020.Excluding this ship, the Navy's original FY2021 budget submission requests the procurementof seven new ships rather than eight. In late November 2020, the Trump Administrationreportedly decided to request the procurement of a second Virginia-class attack submarinein FY2021. CRS as of December 10, 2020, had not received any documentation from theAdministration detailing the exact changes to the Virginia-class program funding linesthat would result from this reported change. Pending the delivery of that information fromthe administration, this CRS report continues to use the Navy's original FY2021 budgetsubmission in its tables and narrative discussions.

Advances in Human Aspects of Transportation

Advances in Human Aspects of Transportation
Author: Neville Stanton
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 938
Release: 2018-06-27
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3319938851

This book discusses the latest advances in research and development, design, operation and analysis of transportation systems and their complementary infrastructures. It reports on both theories and case studies on road and rail, aviation and maritime transportation. Further, it covers a wealth of topics, from accident analysis, vehicle intelligent control, and human-error and safety issues to next-generation transportation systems, model-based design methods, simulation and training techniques, and many more. A special emphasis is placed on smart technologies and automation in transport, and on the user-centered, ergonomic and sustainable design of transport systems. The book, which is based on the AHFE 2018 International Conference on Human Factors in Transportation, held in Orlando, Florida, USA on July 21–25, 2018, mainly addresses the needs of transportation system designers, industrial designers, human–computer interaction researchers, civil and control engineers, as well as vehicle system engineers. Moreover, it represents a timely source of information for transportation policy-makers and social scientists whose work involves traffic safety, management, and sustainability issues in transport.

Uncrewed Vessels and International Law

Uncrewed Vessels and International Law
Author: Haiwen Zhang
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 331
Release: 2024-06-13
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9004706275

This policy-oriented jurisprudence presents the latest research findings on legal challenges faced by the international regulatory framework, as posed by the increasing deployment of uncrewed vessels at sea. It is the first publication that offers discussions and opinions reflecting a combined international and comparative (especially, eastern) perspective. The contributors from multiple jurisdictions elaborate on legal implications of the use of uncrewed vessels for military, commercial, scientific-research, and law-enforcement purposes from such diverse angles as the law of the sea, international humanitarian law, the law of war, global shipping regulation, marine environment protection, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence and law.