U.S. Military Christens Self-Driving ‘Sea Hunter’ Warship
By REUTERS

PORTLAND, Oregon — The U.S. military on Thursday christened an experimental self-driving warship designed to hunt for enemy submarines, a major advance in robotic warfare at the core of America’s strategy to counter Chinese and Russian naval investments.

The 132-foot-long (40-metre-long) unarmed prototype, dubbed Sea Hunter, is the naval equivalent of Google’s self-driving car, designed to cruise on the ocean’s surface for two or three months at a time – without a crew or anyone controlling it remotely.

That kind of endurance and autonomy could make it a highly efficient submarine stalker at a fraction of the cost of the Navy’s manned vessels.

“This is an inflection point,” Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Work said in an interview, adding he hoped such ships might find a place in the western Pacific in as few as five years. “This is the first time we’ve ever had a totally robotic, trans-oceanic-capable ship.”

For Pentagon planners such as Work, the Sea Hunter fits into a strategy to incorporate unmanned drones - with increasing autonomy - into the conventional military in the air, on land and at sea.

It also comes as China’s naval investments, including in its expanding submarine fleet, stoke concern in Washington about the vulnerability of the aircraft carrier battle groups and submarines that remain critical to America’s military superiority in the western Pacific.

“We’re not working on anti-submarine (technology) just because we think it’s cool. We’re working on it because we’re deeply concerned about the advancements that China and Russia are making in this space,” said author Peter Singer, an expert on robotic warfare at the New America Foundation think tank.

Work said he hoped the ship, once it is proven safe, could head to the U.S. Navy’s Japan-based 7th Fleet to continue testing.

His goal is to have ships like the Sea Hunter operating on a range of missions, possibly even including counter-mine warfare operations, all with limited human supervision.

“I would like to see unmanned flotillas operating in the western Pacific and the Persian Gulf within five years,” he said, comparing the prototype ship to early drone aircraft.

The ship’s projected $20 million price tag and its $15,000 to $20,000 daily operating cost make it relatively inexpensive for the U.S. military.

“You now have an asset at a fraction of the cost of a manned platform,” said Rear Admiral Robert Girrier, the Navy’s director of unmanned warfare systems.

RULES OF THE ROAD

Developed by the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the ship is about to undergo two years of testing, including to verify that it can safely follow international norms for operating at sea.

First and foremost is ensuring that it can use radar and cameras to avoid other vessels. Powered by two diesel engines, the ship can reach speeds of 27 knots.

The advent of increasingly autonomous ships and aircraft is stoking concern among some experts and activists about armed robotic systems that could identify people as threats and kill them.

During the christening ceremony in Portland, Work raised the possibility of someday positioning weapons on the Sea Hunter.

But he stressed that even if the United States ever decides to arm robotic naval systems such as Sea Hunter, any decision to use offensive lethal force would be made by humans.

“There’s no reason to be afraid of a ship like this,” Work told reporters at the ceremony.

美軍試驗自動獵潛船「海洋獵人」 因應中俄海軍發展

美國海軍一艘實驗性的自動無人獵潛船命名。這是美國為因應中國大陸與俄羅斯對其海軍投注可觀資金的趨勢之際，在自動控制作戰領域的一大進展。

這艘名為「海洋獵人」的原型船外殼是玻璃纖維，全長約40公尺，滿載排水量145噸，以兩具柴油引擎驅動，攜載40噸的燃料，最高時速50公里，一次可在海洋的水面巡航二到三個月。這種特性足以使它成為極有效率的獵潛工具，成本也遠低於美國海軍現役的人員操作艦艇。

美國國防部副部長渥克表示：「這是一個轉捩點，也是我們首次擁有可在海洋執行任務的全自動船隻。」

「海洋獵人」設計可在浪高大約兩公尺、風速21節的海象運作，可在浪高6.1公尺左右的惡劣天候存活。

「海洋獵人」即將接受兩年的測試，包括確認它會遵守海上作業的國際規範。最重要的是，確保它會以雷達與攝影機避開其他船隻。

自動控制船隻與飛機問世，引起部分專家及其他人士的關切。他們認為，武裝的自動控制系統可能因為把人視為威脅而殺人。

渥克強調，即使美國有朝一日決定為「海洋獵人」之類的自動控制系統配置武器，使用致命武力的決定權還是操之在人。

計畫經理李托菲爾德表示，「海洋獵人」不只是遙控船，人員也會全程監控。它不攜帶武器，利用感應器偵搜並追蹤潛艦。

渥克說，他希望這種船隻經證明安全無虞後，轉往總部位於日本的美國海軍第七艦隊並繼續實驗，未來可執行包括掃雷在內的多種任務。他又說，他希望這種船隻五年內就可在西太平洋與波斯灣執勤。

無人船的單一造價約2000萬美元，每日操作的成本介於1萬5000至2萬美元。

美國軍方希望以「海洋獵人」之類的高度自動化無人船隻結合傳統三軍。美國海軍的航艦戰鬥群及潛艦是美國得在西太平洋享有優勢軍力的關鍵。華府當局認為，中國大陸擴建海軍，尤其是潛艦艦隊，可能對美國的航艦戰鬥群與潛艦構成威脅。

認識海洋獵人

‧ 外殼是玻璃纖維
‧ 不怕6.1公尺大浪
‧ 一次可巡航二到三個月
‧ 滿載排水量145噸
‧ 以兩具柴油引擎驅動
‧ 最高時速50公里

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/04/07/technology/07reuters-usa-military-robot-ship.html

2016-04-08．聯合晚報．A8．國際焦點．編譯陳世欽