The Defense Science Board is recommending the program executive office for Littoral Combat Ships lead an evaluation of alternative autonomous technologies for countering underwater mines. In a June 2016 "summer study" on autonomy, the DSB recommends the LCS program office conduct a three-year, $60 million "user operational evaluation" using unmanned vehicles in partnership with the Office of Naval Research. Current mine countermeasures technologies -- both manned and unmanned -- require lengthy operational planning and still rely on an operator entering...
