When asked about the Office of Naval Research’s (ONR) role in the development of autonomous and unmanned systems, Chief of Naval Research (CNR) Dr. Rachel Riley highlighted some of the command’s most successful investments: REMUS underwater vehicles in the 1990s and early 2000s, swarmboats in 2014, LOCUST aerial vehicles in 2015, and the Sea Hunter and Sea Hawk surface vehicles in 2017.

“I don’t say all this to brag but rather to let you all see really great examples of how ONR does its mission,” said Riley. “We start with basic research and partner with industry to educate them on what the Navy and Marine Corps need in terms of readiness and lethality.

“As technologists, we’re futurists,” she continued. “That gives us a unique opportunity to share a slightly different demand signal than some of our partner organizations. We not only think about near-term capabilities but also the naval needs of the future. We think in decades.”

Riley gave her remarks during an April 21 panel discussion held at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space (SAS) Exposition at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.


Source: ‘We Think in Decades’: ONR Leaders Talk Future of Autonomy, Unmanned Innovation