ONR to Lead Team of “Unmanned Warriors” to the United Kingdom

Autonomy and unmanned systems experts from across the naval science and technology (S&T) community will converge on the shores of the United Kingdom next month for the first-ever Unmanned Warrior joint exercise hosted by the British Royal Navy. The U.S. Navy contingent, led by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), will experiment with 10 technology projects to push the limits of maritime autonomous systems in real-world, challenging operational environments.

“The U.S. Navy is very appreciative of the Royal Navy’s invitation to participate in their inaugural Unmanned Warrior exercise. Unmanned Warrior provides a unique opportunity to showcase our technical and operational autonomous technologies, while simultaneously strengthening our international partnerships with all participating nations," said Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Mat Winter. “Our world-class innovators, working with our allied navies’ teammates, will push the limits of autonomous systems through S&T collaboration, which will markedly improve U.S. and coalition interoperability.”

Unmanned Warrior is part of a larger, British naval exercise called Joint Warrior, which provides a semi-annual opportunity for U.S., British, NATO and allied units to train together in a range of scenarios that realistically could be encountered during coalition operations. More than 40 international participants from other navies, industry, academia and research laboratories will demonstrate the latest in autonomous and unmanned systems.

Technologies being demonstrated include a variety of unmanned underwater, surface and aerial vehicles (UxVs). These will contribute increased capability to naval forces participating in Joint Warrior. Capt. Beth Creighton, USN, the U.S. officer in charge, described the exercise as “a step toward defining the future of naval warfighting.” She added, “We value the lives of our Sailors and Marines and autonomous systems much of do the dull, dirty and dangerous work, so our people can focus on applying their talents to the mission at hand.”

Unmanned Warrior will explore the feasibility of increasing the use of non-weaponized, unmanned and autonomous systems in delivering maritime capabilities. New knowledge gained will inform naval warfighting concepts in five mission themes:

— Geospatial Intelligence: sensors aboard UxVs will gather hydrographic data to define the ocean operating environment

— Anti-Submarine Warfare: UxVs integration will improve threat detection and response

— Mine Countermeasures: cooperation across UxVs speeds operational timelines and response effectiveness

— Intelligence, Surveillance, Targeting and Reconnaissance: low-cost, multi-mission UxVs deliver persistent and extended range ocean surveillance

— Command & Control: enhanced C2 integrates data from disparate UxVs for improved collaboration across manned/unmanned forces

Dr. Marcus Tepaske, the Office of Naval Research Global science advisor to U.S. Fleet Forces Command and U.S. technical director for Unmanned Warrior, will oversee the 10 U.S. technology projects. “It’s a team effort. My goal is to challenge the project officers to push the limits of their systems through acceleration, innovation and collaboration.” Other U.S. Navy commands involved include: Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command; Naval Oceanographic Office; Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center; Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport; Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City and Dahlgren Divisions; Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific; Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division; Navy Warfare Development Command; U.S. Sixth Fleet.

The Unmanned Warrior exercise will officially run Oct. 8-20. Learn more about the 10 technology projects and follow proceedings at #UW16.