Surface Development Squadron 1 (SURFDEVRON)

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

Zumwalt Destroyer Will Control Unmanned Ships, Aircraft in Upcoming Fleet Battle Problem

USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) cruises under the Coronado Bridge in San Diego Bay, Dec. 7, 2018. US Navy Photo

The Navy will get a first glimpse of what future operations could look like, when a Zumwalt-class destroyer manages long-range surveillance and fires by manned and unmanned platforms in an upcoming exercise in the Pacific.

U.S. Pacific Fleet will host its most complex exercise to date involving unmanned systems, with next month’s Fleet Battle Problem exercise including unmanned aircraft...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/22/zumwalt-destroyer-will-control-unmanned-ships-aircraft-in-upcoming-fleet-battle-problem

Navy Integrating Unmanned Surface Vessels, Zumwalt DDGs Into Fleet Battle Problem Exercise

Sailors man the rails aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) in 2019 as the ship pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. US Navy Photo

The Navy is taking steps to integrate its Zumwalt-class destroyers and its unmanned surface vessels into operational plans and will likely include both in a major Integrated Battle Problem exercise this spring.

Both sets of ships currently fall under the control of the Surface Development Squadron-1, which is responsible for overseeing USV...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/12/navy-integrating-unmanned-surface-vessels-zumwalt-ddgs-into-fleet-battle-problem-exercise

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

DARPA Testing the Limits of Unmanned Ships in New NOMARS Program

Artist’s concept for a NOMARS design. DAPRA Image

As the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) explores designs for a ship that could operate without humans aboard, the agency is keeping the Navy involved in the effort to ensure it progresses forward should the program’s work succeed.

While the Navy is creating unmanned surface vehicles based off designs meant for ships that could bring humans aboard, the No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) program is the first to pursue a design that...

https://news.usni.org/2020/10/27/darpa-testing-the-limits-of-unmanned-ships-in-new-nomars-program

Navy to Use Sea Hunter in Fleet Exercises as Unmanned Systems Experimentation Continues

Sea Hunter, an entirely new class of unmanned sea surface vehicle developed in partnership between the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), completed an autonomous sail from San Diego to Hawaii. US Navy photo

As the Navy experiments with its unmanned surface vehicle prototypes, the service plans to employ the Sea Hunter Medium USV in fleet exercises in the next fiscal year, the program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants said...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/30/navy-to-use-sea-hunter-in-fleet-exercises-as-unmanned-systems-experimentation-continues

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