A Perfect Template for Unmanned Surface Vehicle Development Roadmap: Task Force-59

 

Task Force 59 (TF-59), established in Bahrain as the world's first operational afloat robot fleet, has achieved full operational capability in January 2023. The achievement of this capability just 15 months after its establishment was highlighted in the announcements, with TF-59 being the first in this field.

Task Force 59 (TF-59), when its “Full Operational Capability” was announced, had already participated in 14 exercises, including three multinational, and its unmanned systems had carried out missions exceeding 25,000 operational hours.

What makes TF-59 particularly interesting is that it uses completely commercial equipment and supports experimental processes with extremely aggressive development model. In this sense, on the unmanned surface vehicles there are no weapons equipped yet, while some have necessary stations to carry a variety of fire power.

TF-59, which includes platforms with different characteristics and does not have the strict goal of standardization, is actually a robotic maritime task group consisting of a broad variety of platforms and systems. With this structure, it also brings together commercial competitors in various events, such as Digital Horizon, providing an opportunity to test the capabilities of new systems and allowing for further expansion of the unmanned fleet.

The development process based on operational duties taking place in the waters surrounding the Arabian Peninsula covers the area of responsibility of the US 5th Fleet. This part of the world potentially contains military and political conflict environments, hence has given TF-59 the opportunity to rapidly progress in real conditions. After the success achieved by TF-59, a similar model is also planned to be applied in different seas.

In TF-59, there are various unmanned systems with different forms and characteristics that are being tested, but there are two essential features:

Task and navigation autonomy supported by artificial intelligence,

An ad-hoc mesh network infrastructure used for data communication.

Actually, the primary goal in the development process is to obtain artificial intelligence-led mission and navigation software, rather than form of unmanned systems. Artificial intelligence has been placed in different layers in each platform, such as equipment, system or overall level. As an example, an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (Aerovel Flexrotor) with vertical take-off capability took off and landed on December 7, 2022, from a very small deck such as the US Coast Guard bot. Also, expert and intelligent systems located in different layers in unmanned marine vehicles perform tasks such as target identification, mission planning, diving, safe navigation, and coordinated movement, and they are developed as stand-alone or system level in different disciplines.

The unmanned systems that make up TF-59 were designed as a part of the digital ocean, and in this direction, a cloud infrastructure was created where all systems that make up the digital network such as ships, UAVs, USVs, buoys, surveillance stations, etc. can communicate. This design was based on the ad-hoc mesh network infrastructure. Based on the fact that TF-59 is made up of commercial systems, a mesh consisting of SILVUS radios for the mobile network infrastructure was used. Systems that communicate with each other can exchange data with the control station in the open sea thanks to the mobile ad-hoc network.

In trials with unmanned systems, highly unique USVs such as TRITON, which can operate both above and below water, have been used. TRITON is 14.4 meters long and can perform autonomous missions for almost three months above water using its solar panels. The USV can also dive up to 100 meters and stay underwater for up to 5 days. The communication systems are satellite (Iridium) and mesh, as with many other TF-59 affiliated USVs.

For preventive missions, 11-meter high-speed (+50 knot) USVs such as the MARTAC Devil Ray T38 are included.

The Sea Trac SP-48, developed for scientific research missions, is another USV that obtains its energy from the solar panels on it. Like other small-sized USVs, it is approximately 5 meters long and largely relies on AIS for autonomous navigation.

The Saildrone Explorer is probably one of the most prominent USVs of TF-59. The 7-meter USV, which can perform missions for up to 6 months using energy from its solar panels, has route-legged autonomous navigation. Two Saildrone Explorers, which were operating in the operational area, were seized by an Iranian frigate in September 2022 and later returned.

The Data Xplorer by Openocean Robotics is powered by solar energy and designed to work continuously for up to six months, depending on the weather. The communication system is similar to other USVs and uses GSM, mesh, and Iridium.

The L3Harris Mast-13 Arabian Fox USV can be adapted for different missions and may carry other drones, increasing the sensor and communication range. For this purpose, a tethered drone can be mounted as a task load when needed. In TF-59 trials, the SAMS-T tethered drone from Easy Aerial was used, which increases the range of the mesh network. The 13-meter Arabian Fox can work for 36 hours.

The Seagull USV by Elbit Systems is also included in TF-59.

All information obtained from the USVs is transferred to the Robotics Operations Center (ROC) to contribute to the creation of a tactical picture. In each stage of the flow with an artificial intelligence footprint, a monitoring and decision support mechanism developed by BigBear.AI is used within the ROC. BigBear.AI performs tasks in visualizing the collected data with AI support, detecting anomalies, prevention, performing predictions, and decision support layers.

Although it may seem like a venue where commercial companies are competing, TF-59 obtains valuable information and experience for building the future robotic surface fleet. As always, the way to advance in this field is through actual field trials and coordinated work.

A good example of this is the unmanned surface vehicle fleet developed on the basis of Jet Ski by Ukraine, which was used to attack Russian naval platforms.

 

You can access news related to the Digital Horizon event conducted under the TF-59 umbrella on the link.