Dec. 10 (UPI) — Artificial intelligence will help the Navy to design and build its fleets with the help of a $448 million allocation and Palantir Technologies Inc.
A $448 million allocation will help the Navy’s Shipbuilding Operating System accelerate its adoption of AI and autonomous technologies in shipbuilding and related industrial systems, Navy Secretary John Phelan said on Tuesday in a news release.
“This investment provides the resources our shipbuilders, shipyards and suppliers need to modernize their operations and succeed in meeting our nation’s defense requirements,” Phelan said.
“By enabling industry to adopt AI and autonomy tools at scale, we’re helping the shipbuilding industry improve schedules, increase capacity and reduce costs,” he explained.
“This is about doing business smarter and building the industrial capability our Navy and nation require.”
The Navy will incorporate Palantir’s software to optimize its ShipOS shipbuilding program at public and private shipyards.
Phelan announced the Navy’s partnership with Palantir during a special event at the Navy’s Rapid Capabilities Office in Washington on Tuesday.
“Every shipbuilder who partners with us will have AI-powered tools that optimize their work in real time,” Phelan said, as reported by Breaking Defense.
“Every supplier in the network will be connected through intelligent logistics,” he continued. “Every program manager will have unprecedented visibility into schedule, cost and risk.”
Officials with the Maritime Industrial Base program will work with their counterparts in the Naval Sea Systems Command to compile data and identify bottlenecks, streamline engineering workflows and proactively mitigate risks while providing a data-driven approach to manage shipbuilding.
Pilot programs showed such AI-powered shipbuilding greatly improved the process, according to Navy officials, who offered General Dynamics Electric Boat construction of submarines as an example.
AI reduced the planning scheduled for submarines from 160 hours to less than 10 minutes at General Dynamics Electric Boat.
Another example provided is the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, where material reviews were reduced from several weeks to less than an hour through the use of AI.
Navy officials said incorporating AI and autonomy in shipbuilding operations greatly improves efficiency, accuracy and output.
The increased efficiency, accuracy and output could help the Navy to complete its shipbuilding program and modernize its weapons systems.
The Navy has a 30-year shipbuilding program that is behind schedule and is building four nuclear submarines to add to its fleet.
