Overlord

‘Ghost Fleet’ Hulls Moving Toward Completely Unmanned Operations

USVs Ranger and Nomad unmanned vessels underway in the Pacific Ocean near the Channel Islands on July 3, 2021. US Navy Photo

The pair of Ghost Fleet ships the Navy and the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office are using as testbeds to prove large autonomous vessels can operate effectively at sea are slowly moving toward completely unmanned operations.

Unlike the medium unmanned surface vessel demonstrators Sea Hunter and Sea Hawk, the much larger converted off-shore oil and gas support vessels...

https://news.usni.org/2021/07/27/ghost-fleet-hulls-moving-toward-completely-unmanned-operations

Two More ‘Ghost Fleet’ Unmanned Test Ships to Join Fleet Next Year

USVs Ranger and Nomad unmanned vessels underway in the Pacific Ocean near the Channel Islands on July 3, 2021. US Navy Photo

The next pair of ships slated for the Navy and the Pentagon’s test program for autonomous ships are under construction on the Gulf Coast and set to join the service next year, defense officials told reporters on Tuesday.

The Navy’s two new Ghost Fleet Overlord surface ships will join two existing hulls developed by the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office as part of the...

https://news.usni.org/2021/07/13/two-more-ghost-fleet-unmanned-test-ships-to-join-fleet-next-year

Ghost Fleet Ship ‘Nomad’ Arrives in California After 4,421 Nautical-Mile, ’98 Percent’ Autonomous Trip

Ghost Fleet Ship Nomad arriving at Point Loma, Calif., on May 29, 2021. IMage via Twitter

The Pentagon’s second autonomous test ship is in California after completing a 4,421 nautical-mile journey from the Gulf Coast to the West Coast after passing through the Panama Canal, according to a Monday statement provided to USNI News.

Nomad, one of two Ghost Fleet Overlord test ships developed by the Department of Defense’s Strategic Capabilities Office, arrived in California on May 29. The converted...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/07/ghost-fleet-ship-nomad-arrives-in-california-after-4421-nautical-mile-98-percent-autonomous-trip

Ghost Fleet Ship ‘Nomad’ Transited Panama Canal, Headed to California

Ghost Fleet vessel Nomad transits the Miraflores locks in the PAnama Canal on May 18, 2021. USNI News Graphic

An experimental unmanned surface vehicle has transited the Panama Canal on the way to its new home in California, USNI News has learned.

Nomad, a former offshore patrol vessel retrofitted with systems to allow the ship to operate autonomously, passed through the Panama Canal this week, according to ship spotters tracking data from Marine Traffic.com. A Navy official also confirmed the...

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/20/ghost-fleet-ship-nomad-transited-panama-canal-headed-to-california

Navy Takes Delivery of Sea Hawk Unmanned Vessel

Seahawk USV. Leidos Image

A second medium-sized unmanned surface vessel prototype has delivered to the Navy, builder Leidos announced this week.

Sea Hawk, sister ship to the Navy’s Sea Hunter, was built on the Gulf Coast and is now bound to join the Navy’s Surface Development Squadron One in California, the company said in a Wednesday press release.

In 2017, the Office of Naval research awarded Leidos a $35.5 million contract to build the 145-ton trimaran as a follow-up to the original L3-built...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/08/navy-takes-delivery-of-sea-hawk-unmanned-vessel

Pentagon ‘Ghost Fleet’ Ship Makes Record-Breaking Trip from Mobile to California

A Ghost Fleet Overlord test vessel takes part in a capstone demonstration during the conclusion of Phase I of the program in September. Two existing commercial fast supply vessels were converted into unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for Overlord testing, which will play a vital role in informing the Navy’s new classes of USVs. US Navy photo.

One of the Pentagon’s two Overlord large unmanned surface vessels conducted a first-ever Panama Canal transit, sailing thousands of miles from the Gulf Coast...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/10/pentagon-ghost-fleet-ship-makes-record-breaking-trip-from-mobile-to-california

Chinese Navy Crafts Unmanned Sea Hunter Knock-off

Chinese Navy USV

A candid photograph posted on Chinese social media sheds light on a Chinese project to develop an unmanned ship similar to the U.S. Navy’s Sea Hunter. The trimaran is remarkably similar to the Sea Hunter in almost every respect.

Although the designation of the project is unknown, based on imagery analysis, the builder and dimensions have been established.

The uncrewed Sea Hunter has been designed under the Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program. The uncrewed surface...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/25/chinese-navy-crafts-unmanned-sea-hunter-knock-off

Austal Expanding Yard In Alabama as It Eyes New Unmanned, Amphibious Shipbuilding Programs

The future Savannah (LCS-28) is floated down the Mobile River on Sept. 2, 2020, just days after it was christened at the Austal USA shipyard. Austal USA photo.

Austal USA is expanding the capacity and capability of its Alabama shipyard, doubling down on investing in its future in a way reminiscent of 2009, just before it won the block buy of Littoral Combat Ships that secured the yard a spot in the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.

The Mobile yard this month closed on the purchase of a ship...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/15/austal-expanding-yard-in-alabama-as-it-eyes-new-unmanned-amphibious-shipbuilding-programs

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