Exclusive Content

In this exclusive interview, Guy Thomas goes in depth to discuss the current level of autonomy and design in existing unmanned maritime systems, the new opportunities and capabilities that come from operating in deeper sea levels, the future of unmanned maritime systems and an outlook on the challenges that will need to be overcome to reach full autonomy.

We took a look how the Navy's FY19 Budget Request is going to impact current maritime initiatives. As program officials face pressure to speed up the acquisition of new capabilities, the Navy is moving forward with a number of unmanned undersea vehicles and unmanned service vehicle projects. Relative to domain of operation, unmanned maritime vehicles are scheduled to receive $1.3 billion in 2019 funding. Download this infographic to find out where the funds are being allocated. 

Navy's across the world are shifting their strategic thinking into oceanographic and hydrographic vessels, ocean systems, submarines and maritime unmanned vehicles to enable maritime dominance over adversaries. NATO's Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CRME) is leading the research and experimentation of new technologies in ocean science to address security and defense issues within NATO countries. Dr. Warner, Director of the NATO Center, gave insight on the role of the CRME, how the Center supports NATO's maritime strategic interests and is strengthening relationships across sectors, and addresses the potential of new technologies in this operational environment.       

This report addresses the increasing investment into oceanographic and hydrographic survey vessels, autonomous systems and ocean intelligence assets, providing greater context to the discussions to take place at the Unmanned Maritime Systems Summit.