DARPA's Robotic Ghost Ships Will Stalk Submarines

Whats to prevent a sub from launching a few torps at the robot tracker?

When robots start fighting robots...the pieces that we will be picking up will likely include more than a few of us among them.

I don't see this as working for the Navy. What happens when a country or group decides they want the technology aboard this "unmanned" vessel? Will it have the capability to fend off attackers and would-be boarders of the speed to outrun them? Will the ship be accessible when at sea? Can it even be boarded? What happens when the first one runs aground? Or hits a coral formation, or something. Navy skippers won't like the control of their ships being handed off to computers. UAVs are crewless in design, but they're not really unmanned. A guy in a dark room sits and flies the thing (most of the time).

Day 1: US Navy launches shinny new unmanned Frigate
Day 2: Unmanned Frigate becomes property of Somali Pirates
Day 3: New Somali Frigate is used to capture cargo vessels.

I see bad things happening :(

Reality Correction from a former Sailor:

Week 1 - Ship sails with much fanfare
Week 2 - Operational
Week 3 - 'critical' valve in Engineering becomes inoperable - Repair crew dispatched
Week 4 - Operational
Week 5 - Sensor indicates possible failure of 'critical' component - repair crew dispatched

Weeks 6 through 52, repeat weeks 4 & 5

Only 1/5 of the crew is onboard to perform combat functions - the rest are caretakers (apologies to my engineering shipmates, but your job is 24/7 - combat or peacetime)

Correction - should read 1/2 of crew, not 1/5

Selfdistruct if hull is breached.

as i understand it (from reading about this on other sites), if the sub being tracked decides to sink the robo-frig, the navy will be immediately notified of the location and be able to have ships or air craft on the scene before the sub can get far. the deseal electric subs this robo-frig is designed to track can only run away from the scene so far so fast before they need to surface or put up a snorkle to run the engines, at which point they become much easier to spot.

a hostile sub willing to blow its cover and sink a frigate on its tail is going to do so whether or not said frigate is a robot, or has a full crew. imho, let it sink the robot and save some human lives.

* * *The ship you have in the picture is not a frigate.* * *

The ship you have in the picture is the USS Chosin (CG-65). It is a Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser.

@wmmurphy Good catch. We can now all gaze upon the lovely visage of the guided-missile frigate USS Crommelin.

I imagine DARPA also wouldn't mind automated cruisers.

I love ridding this thing on the weekends, you are probaly thinking what the f**k, but I own one

Hmm, no maintenace! Probably this ship will not get very far. Even if it will, it will cost fortune. DARPA is doing future, but we are living now. Wasting another taxpayer's money.

p.s. Hate Robots..

A supersonic torp from a few hundred miles out would take care of loud beepers.

I don't really like this idea cause:
1) Everytime something breaks your going to need to send people to it.
2) What if somebody we dont want on it gets on board.
3) Spending more money on multiple back-up systems for everything from EMPs to viruses.

There is just to many things that can go wrong.

Can anyone in Washington spell S*K*Y*N*E*T ? ? ? The moment that one side perfect EMP burst devices(not nukes), you can kiss all this high tech bullshit goodbye.......

I want to see DARPA come up with T-800's/T-1000's that look like Carmen Electra next.

The problem i see with all these high-tec weapons is not only the cost,but if you remove all the reality and horror from combat and turn it into just another video game,the only way to win, or stop a war, just depends on wich side goes broke first!