What's next for the Pentagon after the Replicator programme?
Although the Replicator initiative has made several accomplishments, there are still multiple gaps to plug across the US Department of Defense (DoD) and its services.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has demonstrated how a high‐tech USV, the Liquid Robotics Wave Glider, can improve monitoring of the Great Barrier Reef and coastal waters, the company announced on 5 October.
During a recently conducted seven‐day open-water mission, the vehicle covered 200 nautical miles including parts of North Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef. This is the first major milestone of a five‐year joint research agreement between AIMS and the company.
The USV was deployed to help assess the health of the coral reefs and ecosystems. Powered by waves and sun while travelling along the ocean’s surface, the vehicle provides constant, real‐time environmental ocean data using a suite of on‐board sensors and software. Wave Glider can measure weather, wave heights, water salinity, pH levels and chlorophyll.
Lyndon Llewellyn, head of data and technology innovation, AIMS, said: ‘We are impressed with the number of different measurements it could conduct at the same time and its ability to transmit the data back to our base immediately and reliably while navigating and performing its mission.’
It is hoped that by using technology such as Wave Glider scientists will be able to measure atmosphere and water over long periods of time, as the system can operate at sea for several months at a time while following a programmed course or being piloted remotely.
Although the Replicator initiative has made several accomplishments, there are still multiple gaps to plug across the US Department of Defense (DoD) and its services.
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.