Navy’s Digital Horizon Exercise Showcases Power of ‘Mesh Networks,’ AI

WASHINGTON — A first-of-its-kind naval exercise in the Middle East paired unmanned systems with a so-called mesh network and data-crunching tools to demonstrate a promising use for the future unmanned fleet: cuing crewed ships and planes to problem areas.

Task Force 59, established to rapidly integrate unmanned systems with artificial intelligence for maritime applications, has been operating for more than a year now in U.S. 5th Fleet. The ongoing Digital Horizon exercise showcases such operations at an unprecedented scale, according to the exercise commander.