The U.S. Navy drone boat is the latest technology from the service and it is set to finally be used against the country's adversaries anytime soon, especially now that the project is currently in the final stages of its development.
Just this weekend, the Office of Naval Research released a video of the final testing stage of the U.S. Navy drone boats that are designed to swarm any imminent threat to a Navy ship.
"The U.S. Navy is unleashing a new era in advanced ship protection," the Office of Naval Research said in the released video.
The drone boats are basically self-guided and unmanned patrol boats that are made to protect warships by swarming any potential attackers or threats on the water, according to New York Post.
The promising project is expected to be finalized soon and once done the aquatic drones can join the Navy's fleet within a year, said defense officials.
Officials noted that these high-tech patrol boats were made to prevent attacks similar to the fatal 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen.
The U.S. Navy drone boats are reportedly controlled by Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing (CARACaS), which is basically a sensor and software kit that is transferable among small vessels.
The patrol boats automatically leave the warship they are protecting and they quickly rush to confront any detected threat on the water.
"If I was the actual target it would be pretty intimidating to see five boats rushing at me," the pilot of the supposedly threatening vessel, Sam Calabrese, says in the video, reported FOX 5 San Diego.
One of the developers compared the U.S. Navy drone boats to "guard dogs" since they can detect threats before they can come close to a striking range.
However, while the advanced patrol boats are capable of choosing their own routes in confronting adversaries, they require a sailor from an accompanying warship to control their attacks.
Interestingly, the sensors and software used in the aquatic vessels were initially developed by NASA for the Mars rover.
"When we look at autonomous swarm, we're not talking about a single vessel. We're talking about multiple, multiple vessels that can be in a defensive posture and then - when called upon - can become offensive, surround an adversary and let them know that you are coming no closer to our ship," said Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder of the technolo2gy.
"But of course, if an adversary then decides to come closer we can give them another warning, or potentially we can say, 'You've come to close. We're now going to destroy your vessel,'" Klunder added.
The introduction of the U.S. Navy drone boats comes just a week prior to the 14th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen that killed 17 American sailors.
"While the attack on Cole was not the only motivation for developing autonomous swarm capability, it certainly is front and center in our minds, and hearts," Klunder said. "If Cole had been supported by autonomous USVs, they could have stopped that attack long before it got close to our brave men and women on board."
Navy officials are currently looking into starting operational testing for the drone technology program within this year, noted Washington Post.
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