Science

US Navy to launch AI-guided unmanned gunboats

The US Navy has successfully completed a test mission for autonomous, unmanned boats that can protect a bigger ship, or swarm an enemy target with co-ordinated kamikaze attacks. Using existing NASA technology, these boats will be deployed within months. In the August test, the details of which were revealed by the ONR on Sunday, 13 rigid-hulled inflatable boats escorted a larger ship – the Relentless, overseen by a single controller located on the ship itself – down James River in Virginia. In the second part of the exercise, a boat designated as hostile appeared on the far side of the river. Eight smaller craft, which are usually equipped with machine guns, took off in formation and surrounded the target vessel, with the rest staying behind to guard the valuable mother ship. The software installed on the craft was initially developed by NASA for its Mars Curiosity Rover, which has been exploring the surface of the planet for the past two years. Klunder said that as well as potentially saving lives, it allows to drastically decrease the number of personnel needed to operate the boat. At least 40 people were initially needed to man the vessels, which can now be controlled by just one person.