The Coast Guard Research and Development Center, in partnership with local Coast Guard units, will be conducting test and evaluation of unmanned surface vehicles off the south shore of Oahu, Hawaii, from Oct. 7 through Nov. 5.
The tests will focus on autonomous vessel systems from Saildrone and Spatial Integration Systems, in addition to a Coast Guard-owned autonomous research vessel manufactured by MetalCraft Marine.
This evaluation will examine each vessels' ability to provide persistent maritime domain awareness, especially in remote areas of the oceans. While potentially applicable to many Coast Guard missions, there is potential these technologies will help enable the Coast Guard to better protect critical natural living marine resources from Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and other illicit activities.
