LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Navy showcased Sea Hunter, part of the U.S. Navy’s unmanned surface vehicles (USV) prototype fleet, during Los Angeles Fleet Week, May 22-27.
Sea Hunter hosted tours from May 24th through the 27th, which attracted more than 1,600 visitors to the USV, including Christopher Diaz, Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy. The tours included an overview of the USV, its deployment history, and the mission of Unmanned Surface Vessel Squadron One.
“We welcomed the opportunity to showcase Sea Hunter at this year’s LA Fleet Week and to highlight our work in unmanned technology,” said Capt. Matthew Lewis, program manager of the Unmanned Maritime Systems program office. “USVs are vital to our mission of advancing autonomous operations and growing the Navy's future manned-unmanned Hybrid Fleet. Sea Hunter represents advanced naval technology, and we’re thrilled the public had the chance to glimpse the future of maritime warfare.”
The Navy continues to make significant advancements in the development of autonomous systems. Last August, Sea Hunter was one of four USV prototypes to operate in Integrated Battle Program 23.2, the Navy's third multi-domain unmanned capabilities exercise. During the exercise, Sea Hunter and three additional USVs transited to Japan and Australia for testing, operations with manned warships and experiments with advanced payloads.
An annual event held over Memorial Day weekend to celebrate America’s sea services, LA Fleet Week featured public ship tours, equipment displays, and live demonstrations of cutting-edge military technology. Sea Hunter’s participation in events like LA Fleet Week helps educate the public on the latest naval technology and demonstrates the Navy's commitment to integrating advanced technology into its operations.
Sea Hunter is a USV in the Program Executive Office, Unmanned and Small Combatants portfolio, which designs, develops, builds, maintains and modernizes the Navy’s unmanned maritime systems; mine warfare systems; special warfare systems; expeditionary warfare systems; and small surface combatants.