Strategic Capabilities Office

‘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

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

Navy Issues Draft Request for Proposal for Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle

A Naval Sea Systems Command-developed Iraqi 60-meter Offshore Support Vessel. US Navy briefing material indicate that early versions of the service’s large unmanned surface vessels could be based on OSV designs. US Navy Photo

The Navy has put a call out to industry to send in ideas for its planned fleet of corvette-sized unmanned surface vehicles, according to a draft request for proposal announced on Wednesday.

The draft RFP for the Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle program starts the work of...

https://news.usni.org/2019/08/14/navy-issues-draft-request-for-proposal-for-large-unmanned-surface-vehicle

Navy Planning Aggressive Unmanned Ship Prototyping, Acquisition Effort

Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV) prototype Sea Hunter pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Oct. 31, 2018. US Navy Photo

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Navy has tightly coupled early prototyping efforts and future acquisition efforts for medium and large unmanned surface vehicles, to speed up the time it will take to experiment with the vessels and get them fielded to fleet commanders, the program manager said last week.

The Navy recently accelerated its timelines...

https://news.usni.org/2019/05/15/navy-planning-aggressive-unmanned-ship-prototyping-acquisition-effort

Navy Betting Big on Unmanned Warships Defining Future of the Fleet

Medium displacement unmanned surface vehicle (MDUSV) prototype Sea Hunter is moored onboard Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. US Navy Photo

THE PENTAGON – The Navy has more questions than answers on how it will use unmanned warships in the future, but it knows now is the time to get unmanned surface vehicles into the water and start learning, the Navy’s top requirements officer told USNI News.

The service is so sure that it needs USVs for its future operations that it is pouring $2.7...

https://news.usni.org/2019/04/08/navy-betting-big-on-unmanned-warships-defining-future-of-the-fleet