U.S. Navy Tests Robotic Refueling System for Unmanned

The U.S. Navy has demonstrated a robotic towed connector to repeatedly capture, refuel and release an unmanned surface vessel at sea. The test used the T38, a Navy-owned remotely controlled USV built by Maritime Tactical Systems Inc., and Sealartec’s towable capture and connection device. Over seven months, a Navy-industry team moved from concept to real-world testing. The goal was to keep USVs and their sensors on station longer during critical testing of advanced long-range capabilities without increasing reliance on crewed support ships.

During the Aug. 11 demonstration, the team ran dozens of full-cycle capture, refuel and release exercises at sea in addition to pierside demonstrations. The training support vessel USNS Vindicator (TSV 5) towed the TCCD and transferred a total of 400 gallons of fuel to the T38 during the event. In total, the refueling system completed about 100 connection cycles over the course of a few days leading up to and including the event.

The event took place in waters off Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia, and was sponsored by U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division. It brought together BWI, BWI’s Future Capabilities Office fleet management team and industry partners MARTAC and Sealartec. The Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules Program Office (PMS 420) and the Navy’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Robotics and Autonomous Systems also provided contracting support.

Spencer Holloway, director of BWI’s Future Capabilities Office, said the immediate focus is supporting hypersonic and precision long-range fires testing, where flight profiles can extend thousands of miles beyond fixed-range boundaries and require data-collection assets to be distributed across a vast area. He added that the underlying challenge applies more broadly-every time an unmanned vessel must return to port for fuel, persistence, coverage and redundancy are lost, and the mission is interrupted.

Ronald Raymer, branch head for capability, innovation, science and technology integration at U.S. Fleet Forces Command, said unmanned refueling can strengthen fleet readiness by enabling greater use of USVs. He stated this will allow greater reliance on unmanned vessels instead of manned ones and permit pushing USVs into higher threat areas without risking manned vessels and personnel. It will also allow distributing greater capability into an area without investing in large expensive manned vessels and their refueling supports.

Amitai Peleg, CEO of Sealartec, said the team gained insights that will help refine the design process of the TCCD. They learned lessons about broader operational processes involving the launch, refueling and recovery of USVs. Another major takeaway involved their roadmap for transitioning from a remotely operated refueling process to a fully autonomous architecture, where the USV will approach the refueling device, communicate via automated protocols, and guide itself into position using maneuvering algorithms-virtually eliminating human dependency from the loop.

Karl Van Deusen, senior vice president of MARTAC, said working with Sealartec and BWI opened new learning opportunities for the company. Testing together in an operational environment allowed the team to identify improvements, apply lessons learned and refine future concepts of operation for unmanned maritime systems.

Holloway said the short timeline from inception of the TCCD to on-water demonstrations came from collaboration between government and industry, which allowed the team to respond quickly to changes when needed. Working directly with industry partners brought the platform, control systems, operators, and engineers together as one integrated team, enabling rapid testing and iteration based on observations.

Peleg noted that at industry conferences, defense organizations often talk about adapting to the rapid pace of technology by simplify procurement and operating more like agile startups. BWI didn’t just talk about that mindset; they demonstrated it.

BWI’s next milestone is an end-to-end autonomous refueling demonstration that will test vessel rendezvous and approach, capture, fuel transfer, disconnection and return to mission as a single evolution. The immediate work has two parts: reducing command-and-control latency to improve precise maneuvering during operator-assisted testing and integrating next-generation local positioning systems to aid in autonomous refueling.