Roughly 400 years ago, 101 people known as pilgrims made a risky, historic trans-Atlantic voyage from Plymouth, UK, toward Plymouth, Mass., in a ship called the Mayflower. This month, a collaboration of maritime boundary pushers aims to launch a second Mayflower to repeat the journey – this time with no humans aboard.
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The New Hybrid Experience for XPONENTIAL 2021
5 WAYS TO MAKE THE MOST OF XPONENTIAL 2021
XPONENTIAL is a globally-recognized gathering for leaders and users of unmanned technologies. Each year, it brings together thousands of the industry’s top minds—from engineers, to policymakers, to enterprise program managers—to cultivate collaboration, spark new ideas, and design the future of autonomy.
In 2020, XPONENTIAL went fully virtual in response to the global pandemic. This year, after months of careful planning, it’s officially coming back as a two-part, hybrid experience.
Unmanned Systems Defense Phase I: Maritime
Today, AUVSI launched the first of three phases of the 2021 Unmanned Systems Defense (USD) Conference. This annual event brings together a wide range of stakeholders with expertise across the defense segment of the unmanned industry, including senior officials at the Department of Defense (DOD), program managers at federal security agencies, and industry executives with deep expertise on these issues.
New Sea Machines exec brings lessons learned on the road
Moran David, the new Chief Commercial Officer for Boston-based Sea Machines, has a résum
Sonardyne Technology Selected to Support Fugro's Fleet of Uncrewed Surface Vessels
Technology from Sonardyne has been chosen to support leading geo-data specialist Fugro’s global fleet of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) and remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs).
Sonardyne’s Mini-Ranger 2 Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) position system will be integrated into Fugro’s new 12-meter long Blue Essence USV, the first of which will be delivered to Fugro’s base in Perth in February. Once integrated, the Mini-Ranger 2 will allow the Blue Essence to deploy, track, command and control ROVs and underwater autonomous vessels (UAVs) as part of inspection, survey and data harvesting projects - all of which will be controlled from Fugro’s onshore remote operations centers.
Congratulations to General Austin on his Confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Defense
This morning, retired Army General Lloyd Austin was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Defense, and AUVSI offers him and his family our warm congratulations.
Secretary Austin comes to the job with a very impressive resume, marked by several key accomplishments: he was the first Black commander of CENTCOM, the first Black Vice Chief of Staff for the Army, and is now the first Black Secretary of Defense. While serving in the Army, Sec. Austin led every Army formation from platoon-sized elements to a full combatant command, and as a brigadier general deployed to Iraq in 2003, he famously carried an M4 service rifle instead of the traditional general’s service weapon.
Elbit Systems to supply Seagull USVs to the Navy of a country in Asia-Pacific
Elbit Systems has been awarded a contract to supply Seagull USVs to the Navy of a country in Asia-Pacific.
Under the contract, which will be performed over a 17-month period, Elbit Systems will provide Seagull USV systems that are specifically configured to perform Mine Counter Measures (MCM) missions while facilitating the option to add technology modules needed for Anti-Submarine Warfare.
The Seagull USVs will be equipped with Side-Scan and Forward-Looking sonars, Mine Identification and Destruction Remotely Operated Vehicles. They will also be equipped with Elbit Systems’ autonomous suite, Combat Management System and Satellite Communication capability.
Huntington Ingalls Industries acquires autonomy business of Spatial Integrated Systems
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) is expanding its unmanned systems capabilities with a highly skilled team and proven USV solutions through its acquisition of the autonomy business of Spatial Integrated Systems Inc. (SIS), which HII announced on Monday, Jan. 4.
The transaction closed on Dec. 31, 2020 and approximately 50 employees from SIS, primarily located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, have joined HII Technical Solutions’ Unmanned Systems business group. HII broke ground on its new HII Unmanned Systems Center of Excellence in nearby Hampton, Virginia in Sept. 2020.
Lockheed Martin to provide LUSV study for U.S. Navy
As part of the U.S. Navy’s Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) competition, Lockheed Martin will provide a study for a proven, integrated and capable payload ship that can patrol for extended durations.
Lockheed Martin is partnering with Vigor Works LLC as the team’s shipbuilder. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor, so it will manage the program, deliver platform integration, systems engineering, combat management, automation and cyber solutions.