By Robbin Laird Recently, I had a chance to continue my discussions with CDRE Darron Kavanagh who is Director General Warfare Innovation, Royal Australian Navy Headquarters, concerning maritime autonomous systems. Kavanagh has been one of the most articulate leaders of the development and introduction of maritime autonomous systems in Australia.…
By Robbin Laird We have heard a lot about A2D2 and about the authoritarian powers and their asymmetric threats, Well two can play this game. The U.S. Navy has within reach a new capability to throw curve balls into the con-ops of an Iranian or Chinese navy approach to challenging…
Recently, during an exercise in the Persian Gulf, a MARTAC Devil Ray USV was refueled by a USCG vessel. The production version of the Devil Ray can go more than 1000 nautical miles at normal speed but with refueling it obviously can stay on operations much longer. And staying on…
According to a 2012 Congressional Research Service Report: “In the fall of 2011, the Obama Administration issued a series of announcements indicating that the United States would be expanding and intensifying its already significant role in the Asia- Pacific, particularly in the southern part of the region. The fundamental goal…
U.S. Central Command and the Saudi Armed Forces conduct a multilateral exercise between the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This exercise is designed to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to GCC partners, and regional security and stability. Eagle Resolve 23 (ER23) is conducted bi-annually with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)…
By Robbin Laird MARTAC has been working on autonomous maritime systems for more than a decade. They have worked from the beginning on USVs that worked together rather than simply being lone wolf systems; they operate as wolfpacks. In the past decade, they developed two workhorse USVs and have taken…
By Robbin Laird The Sir Richard Williams Foundation Seminar on 30 March 2023 focused on the way ahead with regard to deterrence of adversaries in the region, notably with both the behavior and the capabilities of the PRC in mind. The question of refocusing the role of the ADF in…
By Robbin Laird In my discussion with Commodore Darron Kavanagh, Director General Warfare Innovation, Royal Australian Navy Headquarters, he emphasized that one way to look at the contribution of maritime autonomous systems was in terms of the mission threads to which they contribute. As CDRE Kavanagh underscored: “One of the…
