In every military confrontation, the United States has to support its soil troops with food, fuel, ammunition and weapons. In a conflict with China about Taiwan, however, this material will come from the Philippines and Japan.
That meansMilitary Sealift CommandWhich is clearly visible and susceptible to attacks. Military Sealift Command ships could be overwhelmed by the numerical superior and militarized Chinese “fishing fleet”.
A less vulnerable and scalable method would be the use of inexpensive, quickly built, small autonomous surface vessels to deliver supplies.
Anyone could wear a standard shipping container. They would work together in ten or hundreds, a more disapproving and therefore challenging the goal. Even if a significant number is attacked, damaged or sunk, it is unlikely that the opponent could destroy the entire logistical support chain on the front.
This will be a radical department from conventional logistics supply with large manned cargo ships. The spread of loads between many smaller watercraft almost eliminates the risk that all deliveries for an attack will be lost. Water pipe vessels offer a much smaller signature for detection.
Unmanned ships would reduce the risk of human victims and weaken the acuteCivilian lack of staffAt the Military Sealift Command. Such software-oriented forms always enable quick updates to adapt to change conditions in order to escape enemies or Incly weather.
Such a small water vehicle does not require a connection. They could carry almost anywhere and bring material closer to the fight. You could even deliver supplies for justice and hang around as an offshore warehouse near conflict zones.
It is important that such smells are quickly produced in the United States. Adaptive manufacturing techniques such as3D printingCould ride up
This type of autonomous shipping council provides the USA differently so that the opponents can counteract. But like every new concept, it is risks and restrictions.
Open CEAN surgery and the potential of differentiated or blocked communication or hacking mean that each ship must be able to achieve its mission independently. In the best cases, autonomous operation enables coordination and collective control, but will certainly represent technological challenges in development, testing and validation.
The unloading of freight without a crew or port is another big hurdle. But if the Pentagon has committed itselfDistributed logistics deliveryThis would like to lead to technological advances in order to solve this broken problem in the last mile.
Military planners must also take into account the maritime laws and provisions of US allies and partners, including rights on the way and the effects on the environment in terminal waters. This could require considerable and urgent diplomatic efforts in a time of the conflict, Altogh, which could possibly be reduced if this nation is threatened by the side effects.
In international waters, responsibility and regulation mainly shift to the international maritime organization, the agency of the United Nations, which developed the maritime shipping “rules of the street”. These rules have to be changed if swarms of autonomous vessels are to open the openlant in the open sea.
These are not negligible problems. However, Similla challenges had to be overcome in the sales years, including those who deal with the construction/ command/ software of the US Navy for the F-35 fighter aircraft to convey and provide the complex software for the US Navy Aegis/ Software.
In the end, maintaining the war struggle in a chain of Indopazacific Islands against a strong opponent offers only a few traditional possibilities. The challenge requires clear thinking about new methods for the delivery of supply deliveries that are robust, scalable and resilient.
Kanna Rajanis a senior scientist at the edge that includes multidisciplinary research artificial intelligence, ocean science and robotics.Karlyn Stanleyis a conductive guideline at the edge and a subject expert for the legal and political dimensions of autonomous vehicles.
