U.S Navy’s Robotic System Refuels Drone Boats At Sea To Support Longer Missions

A robotic system which was developed in just 7 months successfully refuelled a drone boat at sea, without requiring it to return to port.

The demonstration took place in August by the Naval Air Warfare Centre Weapons Division near the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia.

A training support ship, the USNS Vindicator, towed the robotic system, which then captured the drone boat or unmanned surface vehicle, T38, refuelled it and then gradually released it back within minutes.

This is a significant milestone for the U.S Navy, which would reduce the need for drone boats to return to port and conduct risky missions without worrying about refuelling.

It would bolster the naval warfare capabilities of the Navy and its efficiency in maintaining greater coverage while decreasing its reliance on manned support ships.

Atleast a hundred trials of this kind were performed over the span of weeks, transferring atleast 400 gallons of fuel to the T38 drone boat. Similar demonstrations were also conducted at the pier to test the versatility of the system.

The refuelling system could also be used for the Navy’s Blue Water Instrumentation programme, though it currently aims to conduct trials for hypersonic weapon systems, long-range missiles, etc.

According to the director of the programme, Spencer Holloway, a new robotic system could support this endeavour given how important it can prove for the naval forces, since the ability to refuel drone vessels at sea means they can be conveniently deployed in places where sending manned ships could be risky for the personnel.

It would also enable the Navy to depend on unmanned ships for an array of missions, including high-profile ones in case of a conflict, stated Ronald Raymer of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command. He added that this would also reduce the need to invest in costly manned ships.

The next step would be to try to combine the entire process into an autonomous one, with minimal human intervention, testing the system’s decision-making ability in real time, its ability to decide the volume of fuel, the way to capture the drone boat, and how to safely disconnect and return the unmanned drone boat to the waters during a mission.