In response to the USS. Cole tragedy, the Office of Naval Research has designed a series of unmanned patrol boats with .50 caliber machine guns that can deploy in response to dangerous situations.

The boats were debuted in late August along the James River near Fort Eustis, VA. Thirteen unmanned craft escorted a Naval vessel, then eight patrol boats broke off in response to a simulated enemy ship. The simulation was designed to escort large Naval vessels through straits such as the Persian Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz.

Not only are the crafts unmanned, but they have the capability to decide how and when to encircle and attack the enemy. However, the .50 caliber guns are controlled by humans who will decide whether or not to utilize lethal force upon a suspected enemy.

Chief of Naval Research Rear Admr. Matthew Klunder spoke at the unmanned crafts’ debut, citing the USS. Cole as a major reason for developing these patrol boats. “I never want to see the USS Cole happen again,” he said. “I can tell you the systems we just put out on the water would’ve prevented the Cole.”

The USS Cole tragedy in 2000 killed 17 sailors and injured 39 others. In response to this disaster, the Office of Naval Research began developing unmanned crafts using sophisticated algorithms to help the boat maintain speed and determine actions.

The new unmanned crafts are also relatively inexpensive. The kits to make existing patrol boats unmanned cost $2,000 and should be widely available within a year. Some of the technology utilized was originally developed from other agencies such as NASA.