There is no secret that the Navy has often used undersea surveillance sonar such as the German-made Cerberus anti-diver set for years in sensitive areas such as strategic ports, NSYs, and homeports.
For instance, more than 20 years ago:
050815-N-1722M-026 Pascagoula, Miss. (Aug 15, 2005) – Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit One Two (EODMU-12) Det 10 prepare to guide the Cerberus Swimmer Detection System into the water at Naval Station Pascagoula during the Gulf Coast Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative 2005. The initiative is being held at the Port of Pascagoula in cooperation with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, along with federal, state, and local agencies working together to enhance homeland security. U.S. Navy Photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Michael Moriatis (RELEASED)
Plus, there are regular harbor inspections and exercises by USCGR PSUs and USNR MIUWUs, not to mention state and local dive teams and UXO/EOD dets.
Now the ante has been quietly upped in the form of full-time AUSVs.
I’ve covered the Ocean Aero Triton, which is capable of sailing autonomously for 3 months on solar and wind power at speeds of up to 5 knots, several times in the past couple of years. I see them a lot as the company is based here in Gulfport.
Up she comes.
It seems the Triton is now also “on the job” in the port, basically making a baseline scan of the bottom and then repeating the grid to look for new items which would be interesting to take a closer look at to see if they are, well, an old refrigerator, or a sea mine.