The US Navy’s Pacific Fleet created the new Unmanned Surface Vessel Division One (USVDIV-1) at San Diego on May 13 so that it can expedite the development and integration of uncrewed surface vessels into the fleet.

A US Navy release says the unit will manage unmanned surface vessel experimentation for medium and large unmanned surface vessels like the Sea Hunter and the Seahawk, both of which are designed for anti-submarine warfare missions.

“To meet the challenges of the 21st Century, we must continue to innovate the surface force,” USVDIV commanding officer, Cmdr Jeremiah Daley said in a US Navy release. “USVDIV One will accelerate the delivery of credible and reliable unmanned systems in conjunction with increasingly capable manned platforms into the fleet.”

Commander of US Navy Naval Surface Forces, Vice Adm Roy Kitchener added, said the command is a “catalyst for innovation as we employ unmanned surface capabilities in the Pacific Fleet. The implementation of unmanned systems will increase decision speed and lethality to enhance our warfighting advantage.”

USVDIV says it will deploy four types of USVs to RIMPAC 2022 exercise which will run from June to August in Hawaii, including the trimarans USV Sea Hunter and USV Seahawk, and two Ghost Fleet support vessels, Nomad and Ranger.

“All four ships will be dispersed, and we’ll be working with different task force commanders during all three phases of the Rim of the Pacific exercise, both from a command-and-control standpoint and also exercising our capabilities from a payload standpoint,” Cmdr Daley said in a separate media roundtable.