US Navy’s robotic system transfers 400 gallons to unmanned vessel at sea

The US Navy has demonstrated a robotic system that can capture, refuel, and release an unmanned surface vessel (USV) while operating at sea, a capability designed to keep uncrewed platforms deployed for longer missions. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division led the demonstration last month in waters off Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia. A Navy-industry team used the remotely controlled T38 USV and a towable capture and connection refueling system during the exercise. Developed from concept to real-world testing in seven months, the system could reduce how frequently USVs must return to port for fuel. This would help the Navy maintain wider sensor coverage during testing while limiting its dependence on crewed support vessels. Robotic system transfers 400 gallons During the demonstration, the USNS Vindicator training support vessel towed the refueling system. The connector repeatedly captured the T38, transferred fuel to it, and released it back into the water. The team conducted dozens of complete exercises at sea, along with demonstrations at the pier. About 100 connection cycles were completed over several days leading up to and during the event, with 400 gallons of fuel transferred to the T38 in total. The system could support the Blue Water Instrumentation program, which uses distributed data-collection assets during weapons testing. Its immediate focus includes trials involving hypersonic systems and precision long-range fires that can travel well beyond the boundaries of fixed test ranges. Keeping unmanned vessels on station “At [Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division], our immediate focus is supporting hypersonic and precision long-range fires testing, where flight profiles can extend thousands of miles beyond fixed-range boundaries and require data-collection assets to be distributed across a vast area,” said Spencer Holloway, director of the program’s future capabilities office. “But the underlying challenge applies more broadly — every time an unmanned vessel must return to port for fuel, we lose persistence, reduce coverage and redundancy, and interrupt the mission,” he added. The ability to refuel USVs at sea could also allow the Navy to deploy them in areas where sending crewed ships and personnel would involve greater risks. “This will allow us to have greater reliance on unmanned vessels … and we can push the USV into higher threat areas without risking manned vessels and personnel,” said Ronald Raymer, branch head for capability, innovation, science and technology integration at U.S. Fleet Forces Command. “It will also allow us to distribute greater capability into an area without having to invest in large, expensive manned vessels, and the refueling supports that,” he continued. Fully autonomous refueling comes next The demonstration was sponsored by U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division. It also involved the Blue Water Instrumentation program team, the fleet management team and industry partners. Contracting support came from the Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules Program Office and the Navy’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Robotics and Autonomous Systems. The program’s next milestone will combine the entire refueling process into one autonomous operation. That test will cover vessel rendezvous and approach, capture, fuel transfer, disconnection, and the USV’s return to its mission.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Atharva is a full-time content writer with a post-graduate degree in media & amp; entertainment and a graduate degree in electronics & telecommunications. He has written in the sports and technology domains respectively. In his leisure time, Atharva loves learning about digital marketing and watching soccer matches. His main goal behind joining Interesting Engineering is to learn more about how the recent technological advancements are helping human beings on both societal and individual levels in their daily lives.