American startup Splash Industries executed the world’s first fully autonomous underway resupply of a U.S Navy warship using an Unmanned Surface Vehicle, the Tyhoon, developed by the company itself.
The demonstration took place off the coast of Hawaii during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026 exercise, the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise.
During the exercise, the 11-foot Typhoon drone boat navigated sea swells to approach the moving Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2).
It then guided itself into the vessel’s flooded well deck without a single human command or intervention. The breakthrough feat was captured in video footage which has been released by Splash Industries CEO Ivan Avanesov.
It shows the vessel maintaining its path while it moved forward through the heavy wake created by the warship. It then smoothly entered the well deck while personnel observed the operation from above.
Navigating in ocean waters to dock inside a moving warship is one of the most challenging feats to achieve given the wake pattern, natural ocean
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