Chesley Bonestell, “The Exploration of Mars” (1953), oil on board, 143/8 x 28 inches, gift of William Estler, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Reproduced courtesy of Bonestell LLC.

Hunting for Subs with Robots

April 2, 2015

Seagoing robots are likely to play a significant role in shaping how the United States and its allies fight future wars, if a number of technical, operational, and policy questions are answered, a national security and intelligence analyst recently argued in Issues. Now, in a first-of-its-kind advance on the technical front, a NATO research vessel taking part in an annual naval exercise successfully deployed for testing several prototype robotic underwater vehicles designed to hunt for submarines.