U.S. Naval ANTX event highlights unmanned technology, military partnerships

ATTENDING THE Advanced Naval Technology Exercise event at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport are, from left, Ron Vien, NUWC Division Newport technical director; Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse; ANTX Director Peter Hardro; Rep. James R. Langevin; and ANTX Integration Lead Nick DelGreco. / COURTESY U.S. NAVY

NEWPORT – The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport hosted the Advanced Naval Technology Exercise Human Machine Interaction Aug. 30-31.

With over 50 participants from areas of government, academia and industry, the annual event’s purpose is to display and demonstrate future U.S. Navy technologies, and to receive feedback. It also shows valuable collaborations underway, said Rep. James R. Langevin, D-R.I., at the event Aug. 30.

One of the experiments featured was a systems approach to expeditionary mine warfare, with two unmanned autonomous surface vessels and an unmanned aerial vehicle launched from the larger autonomous surface vessel.

“ANTX showcases the importance of partnerships between Navy, academia and industry in driving American innovation, which in turn enables our technological superiority on the battlefield. I can think of no better way to present technology development and innovative maritime systems – these are several things the Ocean State is very good at,” said Langevin.

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The event invites Naval warfare centers and others to demonstrate unmanned systems and technologies related to unmanned systems, said NUWC Division Newport. ANTX provides a low-risk environment where technology that is not yet militarized and in the research-and-development stage can be evaluated.

“It is critical to develop a wide array of weapons and sensors to overmatch our adversaries,” Langevin said. “[Unmanned underwater vehicles] present a variety of opportunities to protect our naval assets and project power and gather information and conduct operations in conjunction with the traditional fleet all over the world.”

“This is a growth part, not just for the defense sector, but for the technology of our country,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., at the event.

Susan Shalhoub is a PBN contributing writer.

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