US Naval Research Laboratory practices fueling Unmanned Surface Vessels in dangerous weather

The US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has been practicing Rapid Autonomous Fuel Transfer (RAFT) to be able to safely transfer fluids, such as fuel, from aid bases on sea to Unmanned Service Vehicles (USV) during difficult weather conditions and dangerous wave heights. The NRL's Spacecraft Engineering Department (SED) just recently demonstrated exactly this with their Sea Fox naval vessel, which they successfully refueled in three-feet-high waves. The next step for the SED would be to figure out a way to complete this type of fluid transfer without having to use manpower because currently, a naval engineer must make the physical connection between the refueling machine and USV. Even though the experts conduct dozens of trials in the US Army Aberdeen Test Center that mimics unsafe weather conditions with wave simulators and such, this task remains risky for man. For that reason, NRL engineers also work towards completing robotic fluid transfer missions with fully autonomous procedures.