A 38-foot drone boat that once spent 192 hours alone at sea came up behind a float towed by a Navy ship off Virginia, pushed a fuel probe into it, took on 400 gallons over dozens of hookups and let go

Key Points:

• In August off Virginia, the Navy demonstrated a novel at-sea refueling method for uncrewed boats using a towable capture and connection device (TCCD), enabling a 38-foot drone boat (T38) to autonomously connect and refuel while underway without a crew aboard.
• The TCCD operates similarly to aerial refueling systems, with a towed floating device that the drone boat aligns with to insert a fuel probe and transfer fuel; the Navy reported moving 400 gallons during the event and conducted around 100 connection cycles.
• Although the connector system is robotic, the T38 was remotely operated with human assistance during the demonstration; the Navy aims to achieve full autonomy where the boat independently locates, approaches, and refuels from the device.
• This technology is critical for extending the operational endurance of uncrewed vessels used in long-range hypersonic weapons testing, where ships must remain on station far from port without returning frequently to refuel.
• Future goals include reducing command-and-control latency and improving local positioning systems to enable fully autonomous refueling cycles, with rapid development facilitated by collaboration between Navy program offices, an Israeli robotics company, and a Florida boat builder.