The Pentagon have outdone themselves this time as they plan for a crewless, automated frigate able to cruise the oceans for months or years without human input.

The new project is called Anti-submarine warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), and is intended to produce “an X-ship founded on the assumption that no person steps aboard at any point in its operating cycle”.

The uncrewed frigate would have enough range and endurance for “global, months long deployments with no underway human maintenance”, being able to cross oceans largely without any human input – communications back to base would be “intermittent”, according to DARPA.

[The Register]

This frigate can free up human resources during its overt submarine tracking duty and is likely to save lives if ambushed by a hostile submarine.

There is also a decoy purpose - when the submarine attacks the frigate, it gives its position away and other manned ships/aircraft can respond by tracking down the submarine.

The new defense technology will give US navy a strong advantage but it is still early days to make the unmanned frigate smart enough to avoid other ships and abide by maritime laws.