Source: United States Navy
The Navy is experimenting with the Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC) which are small unmanned surface vehicles in support of naval operations. This craft provides additional warfighting capabilities to the Fleet, augmenting the traditional combatant force with autonomous systems. To provide this capability to the Fleet, the Navy leveraged rapid procurement avenues such as Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT), which provides funding to small, non-traditional businesses to support the warfighter with advanced technology. The Navy has accepted all GARCs that were awarded through APFIT. The APFIT GARCs have been used by multiple customers supporting experimentation with various payloads and concepts of employment.