It isn’t a concept that was born recently, but it certainly has grown up rapidly and might be set to become a normal aspect for navies around the world.
Increasingly, the United States Navy and other countries with a Navy are putting “ghost fleets” in the water.
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For those who don’t know, ghost fleets are ships that are unmanned and controlled by computers.
Humans can be on a nearby vessel or the same vessel in case of emergency and manual operation is needed, but it’s pretty much computers that are in control of its functions and maneuvers.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Navy completed its first operational deployment of ghost fleets in the Pacific, according to Warrior Maven.
Seeing how the U.S. is starting to deploy them, Canada is now looking into putting its own ghost fleets in the water, according to an article on cbc.ca.
The article also mentioned that Australia has started exploring ghost fleets for the future of its Navy.
The biggest hope for anyone deploying ghost fleets is that they can ultimately save the lives of sailors.
Ghost fleets can be deployed to scope out high-threat areas or attack points on an enemy perimeter, conduct hunting missions or even fire weapons as directed by a human.
On the flip side, ghost fleets can also be used for more diabolical purposes.
Nations such as Russia and Iran have used ghost fleets to transport oil and other goods in an effort to skirt international sanctions, according to Center for Maritime Strategy.