The Navy’s Brad Cooper will take over at Centcom and get his fourth star, succeeding Army Gen. Michael Kurilla in that role. The Air Force’s Alexus Grynkewich will lead Eucom and be promoted to four-star, succeeding Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli in that position. Grynkewich will be dual-hatted as NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe.

The officers were confirmed unanimously by voice vote along with a slew of other nominations.

Cooper previously served as deputy commander of Centcom. Before that, he led Naval Forces Central Command and 5th Fleet, where he oversaw Task Force 59, which was established to help the Navy better integrate uncrewed systems and AI into its operations to strengthen the service’s maritime domain awareness.

Grynkewich had been serving as director of operations, J-3, with the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. Prior to that, he led Air Forces Central and Combined Forces Air Component Commander under U.S. Central Command. As commander of AFCENT, he was a booster for Task Force 99, which was stood up to operationally evaluate new drones for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and other missions.

Cooper is taking the helm at Centcom amid heightened tensions with Iran following the recent U.S. airstrike on Iranian nuclear sites with B-2 stealth bombers and 30,000-pound “massive ordnance penetrator” (MOP) weapons during Operation Midnight Hammer. Earlier this year, the command was combating Yemen’s Houthis during Operation Rough Rider.

In written responses to lawmakers’ advance policy questions ahead of his confirmation hearing, Cooper said that as Centcom commander, he would “launch new initiatives that advance our overmatch through the employment of cutting-edge technologies, including AI-enabled, unmanned platforms and digital integration. Ultimately, we must protect our homeland, counter malign influence, ensure freedom of navigation, compete strategically, and ensure USCENTCOM remains a combat-credible force for security in the region.”

Similarly, Grynkewich will command Eucom as the Ukraine-Russia war — in which drones and counter-drone systems have played a major role — rages on and U.S. military leaders are drawing lessons from the conflict.

“Since the conflict in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, warfare has evolved at a pace unseen since the Cold War’s end. Ukraine and Russia have developed and deployed new technologies and tactics on an innovation cycle of months rather than years. As a result, the U.S. Joint Force has established multiple cells to consistently analyze advancements and integrate lessons learned from the battlefield into U.S. and NATO exercises. For example, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have rapidly innovated their use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and uncrewed surface vessels (USV). UAS and USV operations are now conducted at scale, with significant impact and continuous technological updates. This attribute of the modern battlefield is fostering a shift to a culture of innovation, agility, and lethality across all elements of the U.S. and NATO Joint Force, from industry to operators,” he wrote.

Grynkewich told senators that as commander of Eucom, he would be “a strong advocate for continued investment and prioritization of funding for the fielding and protection of innovative logistics capabilities, such as AI-enabled tools with predictive analytics and autonomous distribution systems.”

Meanwhile, the Senate Armed Services Committee still hasn’t scheduled confirmation hearings for several other Trump nominees for key positions at the Defense Department, including Marine Corps Gen. Christopher Mahoney, who was picked to be the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Navy Adm. Daryl Caudle, who was selected for chief of naval operations; Air Force Lt. Gen. Dagvin Anderson, who’s been tapped to command U.S. Africa Command; Navy Vice Adm. Frank Bradley, who was chosen to lead U.S. Special Operations Command; and former congressional candidate and Green Beret Derrick Anderson, who was put forth to serve as assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict after the nomination of Air Force veteran Michael Jensen for the ASD SO/LIC job was withdrawn without explanation.

The post US military gets new combatant commanders for Centcom, Eucom appeared first on DefenseScoop.

The comments by Vice Adm. Brad Cooper — the current deputy commander of Centcom, who’s been nominated for the top job and promotion to four-star — came just a couple of days after U.S. attacks on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure that featured the first-ever combat employment of “massive ordnance penetrator” bombs.

The Air Force dropped 14 of the so-called MOP weapons from B-2 Spirit stealth bombers during the mission, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer.

It’s unclear how many MOPs or other so-called bunker-buster weapons the Pentagon still has in its arsenal in the wake of the operation. The Defense Department typically does not publicly disclose specific numbers for its munition stockpiles.

“As we’ve seen throughout the region, groups are going underground, [such as] Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis,” Cooper told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing Tuesday. “This is a serious issue that we will have to look at in the future.”

Nation-state and non-state actors have built bunkers, tunnels and other underground facilities to make their personnel and systems more difficult to locate and target.

“I think in the Central Command, and I think we would have to anticipate in the future, globally, you’re going to see threats begin to go underground, whether we’re talking about Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, the Iranians, other adversaries are clearly watching and see where they can gain advantage. In my current capacity, I have visited on multiple occasions the subterranean commando unit in Israel that goes after this problem set. I think, as we look to the future, and if confirmed, I think we need to focus on two areas — sensors and munitions. And if confirmed, I would advocate for both of those,” Cooper said.

Lawmakers and Pentagon officials in recent years have been beating the drum about the need to increase U.S. production of a variety of munitions and other systems as observers have watched forces expend large numbers of missiles and drones in places like Ukraine and the Middle East.

Cooper on Tuesday said he welcomed ideas like the FORGED Act and other measures that could help the Defense Department cut through red tape and bring new technologies into its arsenal.

Another concern raised by lawmakers during the hearing was the growing threat posed by adversaries’ unmanned aerial systems. American troops have come under attack from enemy drones in recent years, including at Tower 22 in Jordan. The weapons have also played a huge role in the Ukraine-Russia war and the recent Israel-Iran war.

Counter-drone capabilities are in high demand, especially in places like the Centcom region.

“I do agree that the nature and the character of warfare is changing before our very eyes, and this is why I think the important work of this committee, whether it’s the FORGED Act or anything associated with it, where you can accelerate the delivery of counter-UAS systems or other warfighting tools into the hands of the warfighters, forward — those are all value added and needed imminently,” Cooper said.

“If I look back specifically toward the Tower 22 incident in the ensuing now 17 or 18 months, we’ve made considerable improvements across the board — layered defense, employing both kinetic capability and non-kinetic capability. We really are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were before. Having said that, I would never be satisfied that we have the maximum readiness. I’ll never be satisfied that we have enough to protect our men and women in uniform. And if confirmed, I would focus on this every single day,” he added.

During his previous assignment as commander of Naval Forces Central Command and 5th Fleet, Cooper oversaw Task Force 59, which focuses on combining AI, uncrewed systems — including commercially owned platforms — and other digital and communications tools to boost the command’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in the Middle East.

In written responses to lawmakers’ advance policy questions ahead of his confirmation hearing, Cooper said that, if confirmed as Centcom commander, he would launch new initiatives to advance U.S. military “overmatch” through the employment of cutting-edge technologies, including AI-enabled unmanned platforms and digital integration.

“In my own experience, having commanded the Navy’s first unmanned and artificial intelligence task force, I’m very familiar with the capabilities that exist in America’s elite tech sector. I believe that we need to leverage that tech sector to maximum capability and deliver capability in the very near term, because we could do more,” he told lawmakers at Tuesday’s hearing.

Cooper’s selection to command Centcom is unlikely to face major political opposition in the Senate, and his nomination is expected to be confirmed.

The post Centcom leader highlights need for more tech that can target underground sites appeared first on DefenseScoop.

On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich has been tapped by the commander-in-chief for appointment to the grade of general and assignment as commander of U.S. European Command. NATO has also agreed to appoint him as supreme allied commander Europe, according to the announcement.

Grynkewich is currently serving as director of operations, J-3, with the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. Prior to that, he led Air Forces Central and Combined Forces Air Component Commander under U.S. Central Command. As commander of AFCENT, he championed the work of Task Force 99, which was stood up to operationally evaluate new drones for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and other missions.

If confirmed, Grynkewich would assume the top military leadership role in NATO as the alliance is pursuing AI and other new tech as well as new relationships with non-traditional industry. The Trump administration is also pushing other members of NATO to shoulder more of the burden for defense of Europe, stating that the U.S. military needs to focus more on the Pacific and homeland defense.

On Wednesday, Hegseth announced that Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper was nominated for appointment to the grade of admiral, with assignment as commander of Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East region. Cooper is currently serving as deputy commander.

Centcom’s area of responsibility has long been a hotspot for U.S. military actions against militant groups and nation-state actors, including recently battling the Houthis and trying to thwart their drone and missile attacks against vessels in the Red Sea.

Prior to his current job, Cooper led Naval Forces Central Command and 5th Fleet, where he was a big proponent of Task Force 59, which was established to help the Navy better integrate uncrewed systems and AI into its operations to strengthen the service’s maritime domain awareness.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Dagvin Anderson has been tapped to become a four-star and command U.S. Africa Command. Africom earlier this year was given expanded authority by Trump to attack terrorist targets in its area of responsibility and is adjusting its posture as it tries to deal with growing threats.

Anderson has held a number of positions in the special operations community during his career, including as commander of Special Operations Command-Africa, among other assignments. He’s currently serving as director of joint force development, J-7, with the Joint Staff at the Pentagon.

On Tuesday, Hegseth announced that Vice Adm. Frank Bradley, who comes from the Navy SEAL community, was selected for appointment to the grade of admiral and to lead U.S. Special Operations Command. He’s currently serving as commander of Joint Special Operations Command.

SOCOM has been a leader within the Defense Department in adopting cutting-edge tech such as AI and other digital tools, including via its SOF Digital Applications program executive office. The command recently released an updated strategy dubbed SOF Renaissance, which laid out SOCOM’s vision for how the force needs to transform to meet future challenges by adopting new technologies and other reforms, including modernization efforts geared toward surface and subsurface maritime platforms; next-generation ISR; mission command systems; and collaborative and autonomous unmanned systems.

In other SOF-related personnel news this week, Trump on Monday nominated former congressional candidate and Green Beret Derrick Anderson to serve as assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict.

The nominees must be confirmed by the Senate to take on those new roles.

The post Trump picks new combatant commanders appeared first on DefenseScoop.

“Fortunately there were no casualties and no ships were hit” when that unmanned surface vessel exploded after transiting about 50 miles into the Red Sea shipping lanes, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, told reporters on a call shortly after the incident. “But the introduction of a one-way attack USV is a concern” for all involved in the OPG initiative, he added.  

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin unveiled Prosperity Guardian in mid-December, in response to a series of drone and missile assaults against commercial ships transiting the Red Sea that were launched from parts of Yemen that the Pentagon assesses is controlled by the Houthis. This flare-up of attacks against merchant vessels emerged in October following the start of Israel’s war against the Palestine-based militant group Hamas.

Cooper briefed reporters Thursday on the latest details regarding this multinational operation, which he and other officials have repeatedly emphasized is “entirely defensive in nature.”

Although countries contributing to the effort continue to warn the Houthis about potential retaliation for these attacks should they continue, “there are no signs that their irresponsible behavior is abating,” he noted.

Roughly 1,500 commercial vessels have safely sailed in the Red Sea since OPG kicked off, according to Cooper, and the nations participating have been able to significantly boost their engagement with the global shipping industry. 

“Since the operation started, together with our partners, we have shot down 19 [aerial] drones and missiles and sunk three small boats,” he said.

In recent years, the Houthis have deployed kamikazee maritime drones to ambush ships in Middle East waters. But Cooper confirmed that this incident Thursday marked the first time the rebel group unleashed a one-way attack USV in the Red Sea during Operation Prosperity Guardian.

“I won’t go into all the operational specifics, but all the attacks that the Houthis had on shipping all happen out in the dense maritime shipping lanes. The USV was also in the dense lanes and came within a couple of miles of ships operating there — merchant ships and U.S. Navy ships — and we all watched as it exploded. No more details on that for right now,” Cooper told reporters.

A senior defense official, who spoke to DefenseScoop after the call Thursday on the condition of anonymity, noted that this latest event involving the detonation of a maritime drone is “bringing to light an additional layer of technological complexity” from the Houthis that officials steering Prosperity Guardian will need to confront moving forward.

“It’s an indication of either emerging or re-identified capabilities. It also further signals that the Houthis are attempting to extend their range with USVs into the sea lines of communication,” the official told DefenseScoop.

As perhaps an indication of a much broader, longer-term need to defend against these types of platforms, the U.S. Navy on Wednesday issued a special notice on Sam.gov to inform vendors about an upcoming request for solutions that will seek “innovative proposals for addressing the challenge of countering multiple cross-domain” uncrewed systems that can be used for coordinated attacks.

The post Houthis deploy unmanned kamikaze boat amid Operation Prosperity Guardian appeared first on DefenseScoop.

Task Force 59 was launched in 2021 to accelerate the deployment of AI-enabled drones for complex maritime operations in the vast areas the Navy’s 5th Fleet covers — including bodies of water in the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean. Naval forces are working with international military partners there to develop and deploy the world’s first fleet of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) that can capture and transmit images and data about what’s happening in those waters in real-time.

During its first-ever Digital Horizon event, which concluded Dec. 15, Task Force 59 brought together 17 commercial partners that, side-by-side, applied 15 advanced unmanned data integration and AI systems in Bahrain — 10 of which were introduced for the first time during exercise scenarios. 

“We pushed those systems to their limits from about 30 different tactical scenarios to observe their true capabilities,” Cooper, who also serves as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said at the Surface Navy Association’s annual symposium this week. 

“Suffice to say, being able to work so closely with our industry partners was a game-changer. I think it’s a great model for how we do business going forward,” he added.

During his keynote address at the SNA summit, Cooper highlighted five lessons service members learned via Digital Horizon.

The first is “we’re able to advance operating in a mesh network,” he said. 

Noting that he really just fully grasped what that term refers to over the last 9 months, Cooper said it is essentially the ability for the military to rapidly communicate and integrate in austere environments and where traditional comms might be denied — like the middle of the ocean during a war. 

“It’s a very critical capability in potential future conflicts — and every platform operating in this exercise operated as part of a mesh network,” he noted.

Leading up to the exercise, Task Force 59 spent months developing the network using a series of bilateral exercises with international partners. Early on, they conducted those exercises with Saudi Arabia, and then another bilateral exercise with Jordan and another with Israel.

“Then, we integrated with a NATO exercise in Portugal — including Starlink — iterating and learning,” Cooper said.

In about a six-week period, the product evolved to look nothing like it did in the beginning, and the team felt they’d established a functional command-and-control mesh network. At Digital Horizon, Task Force 59 officials took that work to the next level by successfully launching and operating an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) — for the first time — from a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.

“This was a significant breakthrough in further developing a resilient communications network for the unmanned systems to relay imagery, video and data to watch-standers at sea and ashore. Continuous development of this mesh network capability will be critical as we scale the integration of unmanned systems with artificial intelligence across the region,” Cooper said.

The second lesson involved the advancements in AI and data integration technologies that are currently commercially available.

“It’s fascinating how industry partners respond to design challenges for unmanned systems in different ways. Some converted traditional boats, and others designed their vessels from scratch. Both work,” Cooper said.

In his view, the systems demonstrated “incredible testament to rapid growth in the field, and very strong indicator that we are indeed on the cusp of an unmanned technological revolution.”

The task force’s third major takeaway from the exercise was the ability to operate on a single “pane of glass.”

“This is a phrase we use for describing how an operator can command and control multiple unmanned systems on one screen,” Cooper said.

He shared a video from the event showing how officials were able to apply AI to reduce the cognitive load on Navy watch-standers and help them make more-informed decisions quicker with camera-equipped drones and other capabilities.

The frame depicted different video feeds from multiple military systems operating across multiple domains — all being filtered through a mesh network. Service members were able to deploy drones to make sense of anomalies in the waters that AI tracked on the spot.

“This shows how unmanned systems combined with artificial intelligence can play a key role in detecting and disrupting illegal or destabilizing maritime activity,” Cooper said.

For his team, the fourth major takeaway was the rapid innovation that could be spurred by deeper collaboration with industry. Military officials saw software fixes within hours, and hardware updates within days, via the exercise, according to Cooper.

“Many of us have been through software changes [that take] months and hardware changes in years. So, it really is a paradigm shift,” he said.

The fifth and final lesson for the task force reinforced their belief that “every success we have is going to start and end with our people,” Cooper noted.

Inspired particularly by younger military members’ contributions to the work, he announced a brand new opportunity for junior surface warfare officers to lead task groups under Task Force 59 in Bahrain and USV Division One in San Diego.

Next month, the task force is planning to embark on a new international maritime exercise to continue to refine its capabilities. Cooper said discoveries made through it will be shared with the Navy’s other fleet components.

That “collaborative process accelerates innovation and shared learning, which really is essential to sharpening our competitive edge,” he added. 

The post 5th Fleet commander reveals ‘takeaways’ from recent exercise with AI-enabled drones appeared first on DefenseScoop.

“This is only 15 months after we formally established it and I couldn’t be prouder of our entire staff for how far we have come,” Cooper, who serves as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and commander of the 5th Fleet, said at the Surface Navy Association’s National Symposium. 

“The path to this major milestone included 11 bilateral maritime exercises, three major international exercises, and over 30,000 hours of safely operating [unmanned surface vessels] in waters around the Arabian Peninsula,” he added.

Launched in 2021, the first-of-its-kind task force was formed to help the Navy better integrate uncrewed systems and AI to strengthen the service’s maritime domain awareness, and enhance its deterrence capabilities as conflicts evolve to become more digital. 

Since its inception, Task Force 59 has also been known for its aggressive experimentation — particularly at a time when the Navy is strategically expanding its inventory of robotic platforms in that region. 

“Today, we are operating platforms equipped with sensors, radars and cameras for many uses including navigation, data collection, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. These new data flows enhance our ability to persistently monitor the surrounding seas and enable leaders to be more predictive and precise in deploying our crewed assets,” Cooper said. 

In the “not-too-distant future,” the Navy envisions deploying these systems “to support warfighting missions across the entire spectrum of joint functions,” he noted.

The 5th Fleet’s area of operations is dynamic and vast — encompassing bodies of water in the the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean. There, Naval forces are in the process of generating a cutting-edge “mesh network” of AI-enabled unmanned surface vessels (USVs) that carry cameras and can transmit images and data via the cloud.

Exercises and demonstrations are being “regularly held” at this point with international militaries in the region, like Israel, Bahrain and Jordan, and Cooper said he expects all this collaboration on USVs and AI to grow in the near term.

“This progress is and has been vital in establishing what we’re calling a ‘digital ocean,’” Cooper said. “This means every partner and every sensor collecting new data, adding it to an intelligent synthesis of around-the-clock inputs, encompassing thousands of images from seabed to space, from ships, unmanned systems, subsea sensors, satellites, buoys, and other persistent technologies.”

Ultimately, the overarching goal is a distributed, integrated network of systems that operate closely with those of partners in the region “to ensure safer seas and enhance maritime security for everybody.”

Many might view this as too ambitious of an aim, but Cooper said it’s achievable and, in his view, “we have already come a long way in a very short period of time.”

Building on its early success, Navy leaders recently announced plans to establish additional uncrewed task forces around the globe modeled after how Task Force 59 functions in the Middle East. As those new teams come into fruition, Task Force 59 is also generating a new pipeline to engage ambitious, emerging Naval leaders in its work. 

“Just three weeks ago, [Naval Surface Forces Commander Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener] approved early command for junior [surface warfare officers, or SWOs],” Cooper said, “opening up opportunities for our most inventive minds to lead task groups under Task Force 59 in Bahrain and USV Division One in San Diego.”

In Bahrain, “these pioneering officers will join our team as we continue making progress towards our goal of establishing the world’s first USV fleet,” he added.

The post Navy’s Task Force 59 reaches full operational capability as it works to build a ‘digital ocean’ of connected assets appeared first on DefenseScoop.

The Navy initially tapped 40 vendors for the initiative in 2020. Now, it’s looking to cast its net again.

On Nov. 21, the service released a Sources Sought notice on Sam.gov to gauge companies’ interest in pursuing access to the IDIQ-MAC pool of vendors that are eligible to compete for individual task and delivery orders.

The Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office PMS 406 and the NAVSEA Contracts Department have planned “to periodically evaluate the need to offer on-ramps for additional Industry partners over the USV FoS IDIQ-MAC’s Period of Performance (five (5) year base period, with an additional five (5) year ordering period option),” according to the RFI.

Contracts awarded thus far have fallen into six categories: payloads, non-payload sensors, mission support systems, autonomy and vehicle control systems, ashore and host platform elements, and logistics and sustainment.

Payloads carried by a USV may include technologies like towed sonars, data recorders, payload controllers and signal processors. Non-payload sensors that are “organic” to the platform may include forward look sonar, transducers, hydrophones, Automatic Identification System (AIS), imaging, radar, transponders, Conductivity, Temperature & Depth (CTD), sub-bottom profiler, Doppler velocity log, Global Positioning System (GPS), and altimeters, according to the RFI.

The Navy also needs mission support systems, such as launch and recovery systems, that provide for “physical, electrical, and/or data interfaces” to the payload systems.

Autonomy technology is seen as a critical enabler of future unmanned platforms that will be expected to operate with limited human involvement.

“Autonomy systems enable the USV to independently develop and select among different courses of action to achieve goals based on the USV’s knowledge and understanding of the situation,” while vehicle control systems “enable the USV to monitor and conduct the mission,” the RFI stated.

The Navy also needs host platforms ashore and at sea to launch and recover unmanned vessels. Technology that falls under this category includes launch and recovery hardware, data interface systems, hardware interface systems, electrical interface systems, local command and control, energy system charging/refueling equipment, onboard storage equipment, maintenance equipment, and tendering for a USV, according to the RFI.

Additionally, the sea service also wants systems and subsystems that enable unmanned vessels to communicate with host platforms, such as radios, cross-domain solutions, enclosures, power supplies and associated software/firmware.

Logistics and sustainment activities include “providing services that are required for optimal performance of the USVs, payloads, Payload Deliver Systems (PDS), and related components throughout the program lifecycle,” the RFI stated.

Industry responses to the notice are due by Dec. 19.

Digital Horizon

The release of the RFI wasn’t the only significant development in the world of Navy unmanned systems last week. On Nov. 23, U.S. 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, kicked off Digital Horizon 2022, a three-week event focused on integrating robotic platforms and AI.

“By harnessing these new unmanned technologies and combining them with artificial intelligence, we will enhance regional maritime security and strengthen deterrence,” Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, said in a statement.

Digital Horizon will include 15 drones provided by 17 industry partners. Ten of those systems will be operating with 5th Fleet for the first time, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

The robotic platforms include the following unmanned aerial vehicles and USVs: Aerovel’s Flexrotor and Shield AI’s V-BAT, Easy Aerial’s tethered UAV, Elbit Systems Seagull, Exail DriX, L3Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13, Marine Advanced Robotics WAM-V, MARTAC T-38 Devil Ray, Ocean Aero TRITON, Open Ocean Robotics Data Xplorer, Saildrone Explorer, Seasats X3 and SeaTrac SP-48.  

“Accenture Federal Services and Big Bear AI will also employ data integration and artificial intelligence systems during the event, and Silvus Technologies will provide line-of-sight radio communications while an unmanned surface vessel from Ocius participates from off the coast of Western Australia,” according to a NAVCENT release.

Digital Horizon is underway as the Navy works to create a “mesh network” of AI-equipped unmanned surface vessels that carry sensors and transmit data via the cloud.

Last year, the service set up Task Force 59 in the Centcom region to advance these efforts.

Robo-ships have been equipped with cameras that can keep an eye on what’s going on in the vast bodies of water near the Middle East and alert commanders when they detect something notable.

“We’ve seen great promise in taking new cutting-edge unmanned surface vessels and tying artificial intelligence with them as a means to enhance maritime security around the Arabian Gulf,” Cooper told reporters last month during a meeting at the Pentagon.

The Navy is growing its fleet of unmanned platforms in the region, and officials hope to have about 100 USVs — contributed by the U.S. and partner nations — operating there by the end of next summer.

“The pace of innovation is amazing,” Capt. Michael Brasseur, commander of Task Force 59, said in a statement. “We are challenging our industry partners in one of the most difficult operational environments, and they are responding with enhanced capability, fast.”

The post Navy looking to add vendors to $982M IDIQ contract vehicle for unmanned systems tech appeared first on DefenseScoop.

The USVs and enabling technologies are expected to enhance the sea service’s situational awareness in the vast bodies of water near the Middle East. The Navy and its international partners have been heavily experimenting with the tech. Last year, the sea service established Task Force 59 to help advance these capabilities.

“We’ve seen great promise in taking new cutting-edge unmanned surface vessel and tying artificial intelligence with them as a means to enhance maritime security around the Arabian Gulf,” Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5^th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, told reporters Wednesday during a meeting at the Pentagon.

The robo-ships have been equipped with cameras that can keep an eye on what’s going on and alert commanders when they detect something notable.

The Navy is keen on positioning unmanned sensors equipped with AI throughout the maritime theater.

“These platforms sit out there and they will map the pattern of life of what’s happening around them. And then when there’s something different than that pattern of life, it will alert the platform. It’ll begin to take pictures of it and send that back to a Navy command center where a human being then makes a decision on what to do about it,” Cooper explained.

“If you’re looking at this picture today in the Arabian Gulf, you know, there’s about 8,000 ships that are underway doing something. There’d be no human being that could possibly pick out that movement that’s outside of the pattern of life. But what we’ve seen is AI can do it, it’s pretty accurate. We’ve been operating these platforms for about 25,000 hours now, so have a good sense of how they how to optimize their performance,” he added.

Having those capabilities allows U.S. forces to better position themselves to respond when something happens, he noted.

However, the Navy wants to better protect the vessels’ communications from being disrupted.

“Just in the last two months, we’ve been working on developing a mesh network. So if you’re not familiar with mesh network … it’s the methodology that we use to communicate in a comms-denied environment,” Cooper said.

Data collected by USVs can be stored on the cloud where it can be accessed at the Robotics Operation Center in Bahrain. The Navy can then combine that information with other sources to get a clearer picture of what’s going on.

“We’ve used it at a rudimentary level already,” Cooper said of the new mesh network. “Operationally it’s highly effective. There’s a level of classification I probably can’t go into. But at a fundamental rudimentary level, we’re using it now. Now, it’s just a question of continuing to iterate and tweak it because it’s pretty high end, it’s a pretty high-end business,” he said.

“I like where we are and I like the direction we’re going and the speed that we’re moving with,” he added. “In our case, we’ve been leaning hard into mesh networks because it is the future and provides the most resilient communication capability, which we’re obviously going to want to have.”

Meanwhile, the Navy is growing its fleet of unmanned platforms in the region. The goal is to have about 100 USVs — contributed by the U.S. and partner nations — operating there by the end of next summer.

The Navy is leveraging commercial dual-use technology for these efforts, including Saildrone systems.

The majority of the 5^th Fleet’s USVs are “COCONO,” Cooper said, meaning contractor-owned, contractor-operated, with Navy oversight. In the near term, that will continue to be the business model.

“What it has allowed us to do is to take leading-edge technology and put it to test in the environment we work with, and very quickly figure out, is it going to work or not? Does it show promise? If it does, okay, then, you know, we’ll work with the companies and we can move faster,” he said.

The Navy and its industry partners are working collaboratively to train the artificial intelligence systems on the USVs to detect the things that commanders want to know about. The companies providing the platforms aren’t necessarily the ones providing the AI technology, according to Cooper.

The post Navy developing new mesh network of robo-ships enabled by sensors, AI and the cloud appeared first on DefenseScoop.