via news.usni.org:
Marines are looking to push as many tasks as possible to autonomous systems as the service aims to operate across wide swaths of the Pacific.
The Marines are working on several avenues to add autonomy to the service, Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, Marine Corps deputy commandant for combat development and integration, told the audience at the Defense News conference Wednesday.
“If you take the [person] out of it, things get simpler and they typically get more efficient, and they get less expensive,” he said.
“You should try to go after everything.”
An example is the under-development low-profile autonomous ships the Marines are considering for contested resupply. The idea came from America’s ongoing counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific, Heckl said.
“We just copied the drug lords out of South America,” he said.
Heckl singled out the recent test transit of the autonomous Spearhead-class highspeed transport USNS Apalachicola (T-EPF-13) that was fitted with a $44 million Congressionally mandated autonomy package.
““It went out and did like 1500 nautical miles, completely autonomously. …They had human beings on board as backups to watch, but what an amazing capability,” Heckl said.
So, I think autonomous from a logistics perspective? Absolutely.”
February 2023:
The Future of the Marine Corps with LtGen Karsten Heckl
Dec 5, 2022
In this episode of Moments in Leadership, I’m joined by Lieutenant General Karsten S. “Hazel” Heckl, who currently serves as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, and the Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration.
VIDEO AT LINK BELOW.
Defense News Conference: USMC Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl
United States Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl speaks with Defense News Naval Warfare Reporter Megan Eckstein at the 2023 Defense News Conference.
www.defensenews.com/video/2023/09/06/defense-news-conference-usmc-lt-gen-karsten-heckl/
Check out the military drone made of cardboard and rubber bands
Made with cardboard, wooden dowels and rubber bands, this disposable drone adds another flexible option to militaries around the world – including Ukraine.
h/t Digital mix guy Spock