Spotted in the Mississippi Sound: Cool Little Haze Gray AUSVs
So we came across this interesting little guy while wandering around the small craft harbor in Gulfport last week.
A closer look shows lots of solar panels on the folded sail over a torpedo-shaped hull, a forward-facing camera, and a FLIR gimble over the stern.
This is it being towed into the harbor past the Gulfport Yacht Club by a 25~ foot RHIB workboat with sparse markings.
CF 9065 LE. Looks to be a repurposed old CG 26ft RB-S, note the painted-over red sides
They motored up to the recreational boat ramp by the repro Ship Island Lighthouse where a guy with a pickup truck and a wheeled recovery cart was waiting.
Up she comes.
The hull form has a centerline thruster stem/stabilizer.
It could be deployed by two-three men. While we watched they unloaded two of these, towing them each off with a Toyota Tundra.
Stumped? It is an Ocean Aero Triton, which is capable of sailing autonomously for 3 months on solar and wind power at speeds of up to 5 knots.
The TRITON is the world’s first and only Autonomous Underwater and Surface Vehicle (AUSV). It can sail and submerge autonomously to collect data both above and below the ocean’s surface and relay it to you from anywhere, at any time.
The TRITON was built to be versatile and to handle a range of missions across a number of industries. Our pre-packaged payloads will cover 90% of the applications in the defense, research, and off-shore energy sectors, but the system is designed to support rapid NRE efforts for more specific use cases. Optional state-of-the-art payloads include advanced modal communications for high bandwidth data transfer in remote areas as well as obstacle avoidance software/hardware to ensure autonomous reactions to unexpected mission complications.
The Specs, and some shots from Ocean Aero of the Triton submerged:
Click to big up 3452×2154
laststandonzombieisland 
You’re correct on the tow vessel. Note the CALIFORNIA [ CF ] state numbers.