3 weeks, 15 unmanned systems: Navy launches ‘Digital Horizon’ exercise in Middle East
The event will feature 15 unmanned systems, 10 of which will be operating with the Navy in US 5th Fleet for the first time.
The event will feature 15 unmanned systems, 10 of which will be operating with the Navy in US 5th Fleet for the first time.
Putting a variety of unmanned capabilities through their paces “in a Pacific warfighting scenario,” Rear Adm. Robert Gaucher, Pacific Fleet’s director of maritime headquarters, said in a statement, the exercise “will include maneuvering in contested space across all domains, targeting and fires, and intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance."
The $34 million deal marks the service's first real thrust to get unmanned ships into the water, despite Congressional worries the service is moving too fast.
The Navy is adding more ships as quickly as possible, even as it grapples with how it's going to pay the costs to keep them afloat once it gets them, a top officer said.