Tactical Wireless Mesh Networks (WMN) Concept for Unmanned Logistics Surface Vehicle (ULSV) Employment in Communication-Challenged Environments

NPS NRP Executive SummaryProject Summary: Logistics support plays an essential role in the United States Navy’s success at sea as fuel, food, and equipment are delivered to underway ships on a daily basis via the Combat Logistics Force (CLF). However, with the advent of unmanned vehicle technologies, unmanned logistic surface vehicles (ULSVs) have the potential to provide a less costly and more efficient alternative to conventional CLF ships. Additionally, ULSVs have the potential to enhance freedom of maneuver and lethality in contested environments as they require little to no human intervention during transit. The ability to maintain communications is critical to ULSV operations, especially in a communication-challenged environment such as the Philippine Sea. Through review of literature and experimentation via wargaming, this thesis proposes an additional or alternative communication architecture onboard ULSVs by exploring the impact of tactical wireless mesh networks (WMN) in communication-challenged environments.Naval Research ProgramTopic Sponsor: N41LResearch POC Name: Eric Bach, CAPT, USNNPS-19-N118-