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"Sea Hunter" Drone Ship.
interesting development
The U.S. Navy’s Sea Hunter
unmanned surface vessel has become the first ship of any description to
ever sail from San Diego, California to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and back
without the need of a crew for navigation and steering. It’s a
significant milestone for this particular vessel and its future cousins,
which the service has primarily been developing as anti-submarine warfare platforms, but could also provide electronic warfare support and acting as decoys to help shield friendly forces.
The MDUSV did have a manned escort throughout the voyages. Personnel did board Sea Hunter
at times to check the ship’s electronics and propulsion system, but
Leidos did not say whether or not any repairs were necessary during any
of the transits.
A consequence of the Fitzgerald and the McCain incidents? 
Replies
will international maritime law have to be changed to allow operation of un-manned vessels?
unmoored vessel without crew is deemed abandoned and can be sunk or salvaged.
A removable operator control station is installed on the craft, and a person will be on board throughout the test period, "for safety and backup," Littlefield said. "We'll be there for a while until we work through the reliability question."
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