For some reason, that line from Weapons of Choice has stayed with me all these years later. We didn’t get there of course, but I guess we’re on the way.
From Austal’s website yesterday.
In a noteworthy development within the Australian maritime sector, the collaborative Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT) project has successfully completed Sea Acceptance Trials (including Endurance Trials) of the remote and autonomously operated vessel, Sentinel.
The trials, conducted by Austal Australia, consisted of a series of remote and autonomous navigation events conducted off the Western Australian coastline during March and April 2024; utilising Greenroom Robotics’ Advanced Maritime Autonomy (GAMA) Software to reliably navigate the de-commissioned Armidale-class Patrol Boat.
I’m currently plotting out the second book of the WW 3.X series, and so far most of the action has been on land. We haven’t seen much in the way of drone warfare yet, but I’ll remedy that in the next two books.
I’d guess that a decent use for augmented tech of this sort might be sending missile barges into harm’s way to fire off swarms of either autonomous or guided weapons.
Of course, you’d have to worry about your barge getting captured and sent back against you.
