Maritime robots grab spotlight

Two new maritime robots, both with Gulf Coast ties, have been unveiled recently. Today at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space Exposition in Maryland, General Dynamics unveiled a quarter-scale model of the Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Undersea Vehicle, "Knifefish." It's a heavyweight-class minehunting, unmanned undersea vehicle designed for the Littoral Combat Ship mine countermeasure mission package. Development and manufacturing work on this program is done in Greensboro, N.C., Fairfax, Va., Quincy, Mass., Braintree, Mass., and Panama City, Fla. A version of the LCS is built in Mobile, Ala., by Austal USA. (Source: General Dynamics, 04/16/12) Last week in New Orleans, Textron showed off the Common Unmanned Surface Vessel at its Textron Marine and Land Systems shipyard. The 39-foot long unmanned system can navigate and patrols the high seas on its own and reach 28 knots. It can be controlled remotely from 10 to 12 miles away, or further away it can be switched to a satellite control system. (Source: multiple, including New Orleans Times Picayune, 04/12/12)