Navy test-fires missiles from robot boats

[Drache]

The Navy recently test-fired missiles from a robot boat. Here a common  unmanned surface vehicle patrols for intruders during the Trident  Warrior 2011 experiment.

U.S. Navy ships face the growing threat of small  boat swarms used by  terrorists, pirates or enemy countries. New testing  has shown off a  possible counter that looks strangely similar except for  the lack of  human sailors — small robot boats armed with missiles.

The Navy launched six missiles from an unmanned  surface boat — called  the unmanned surface vessel precision engagement  module (USV PEM) —  during testing on Oct. 24. The 36-foot robot boat  carries both missiles  and a .50 caliber machine gun that can take on  small boats that may  threaten larger Navy warships.

"Technology demonstrated in this project can  provide a capability to  combat terrorists who use small low-cost  vehicles as weapons  platforms," said Mark Moses, assistant program  manager for NAVSEA Naval  Special Warfare.

Successful testing could add another weapon to the  Navy's arsenal for  countering small boat threats — a terrorist attack  used a small boat as  a floating suicide bomb to cripple the destroyer  USS Cole in 2000.

Countries such as Iran have also armed their navies  with small boat  swarms that can launch missiles or torpedoes in an  attempt to overwhelm  the defenses of U.S. Navy warships.

The U.S. Navy has previously tried a number of  possible defenses  against boat swarms, including helicopters armed with  homing rockets  and shipboard defense turrets that use both lasers and  machine guns.

But the latest test using the Navy's unmanned boat  also represents  part of a large shift to using robot ships, submarines  and flying  drones. The Navy has begun experimenting with small drones  that could  launch from submarine trash disposal chutes along with its  large X-47B  drone designed to take off from the decks of aircraft  carriers. [Could  the Navy Ever Build a Flying Aircraft Carrier?]


In the unmanned boat test, Navy operators remotely  controlled both the  boat and its weapons while launching missiles at  moving targets as far  away as 2 miles. The Spike missiles, made by the  defense company  Rafael, represent anti-armor weapons that use  electro-optic and  infrared sensors to identify targets.

"The fiber optic tether is ultrathin and is  spooled up and uncoils  automatically during flight," Moses said. "This  allows the operator to  view updated targeting information to the missile  while it is in flight  and to confirm the missile is tracking the  intended target up to the  moment of impact."

The testing came as part of a joint  counterterrorism project between  Israel and the U.S. Navy under the  Chief of Naval Operation's  Expeditionary Warfare Division and the Naval  Sea Systems Command's  Naval Special Warfare Program Office.

[JB400]

Looks and sounds pretty cool.  I wonder how they keep the radio or satellite signal from being jammed?

[Mike DC]

[Dino]

I never noticed one of the cyborgs is left handed.   

[bakerhillpins]

Must have been assembled on a Friday  .

[Dino]

I guess he started rebelling first.