What's next for the Pentagon after the Replicator programme?
Although the Replicator initiative has made several accomplishments, there are still multiple gaps to plug across the US Department of Defense (DoD) and its services.
Bourbon joins autonomous vessel project
Bourbon has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Automated Ships to support the development of an autonomous, fully-automated prototype vessel for offshore operations, in collaboration with project lead Kongsberg.
The vessel, named Hrönn, will be a light-duty, offshore utility ship for the offshore energy, hydrographic, scientific and offshore fish-farming industries.
The monohulled vessel of steel construction will be capable of also being used as a remotely operated vehicle and autonomous underwater vehicle support ship and standby vessel, providing firefighting support to an offshore platform working in cooperation with manned vessels.
Kongsberg will deliver all major marine equipment required for the design, construction and operation of Hrönn, including systems for dynamic positioning and navigation, satellite and position reference, marine automation and communication. Its vessel control systems including K-Pos dynamic positioning, K-Chief automation and K-Bridge ECDIS will be replicated at an onshore control centre, allowing for full remote operation of Hrönn.
In the second phase of the project, ASL and BOURBON will join forces to search the subsidies to finance the effective construction of the prototype.
Hrönn's sea trials will take place in Norway's automated vessel test bed in the Trondheim fjord and will be conducted under the auspices of DNV GL and the Norwegian Maritime Authority.
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