The US Navy has successfully completed a test mission for autonomous, unmanned boats that can protect a bigger ship, or swarm an enemy target with co-ordinated kamikaze attacks. Using existing NASA technology, these boats will be deployed within months.

Our sailors and marines cant fight tomorrows battles using yesterdays technology, said Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, chief of the Office of Naval Research (ONR). This kind of breakthrough is the result of the Navys long-term support for innovative research in science and technology.

"The excitement about this technology is it is autonomous," Klunder said. "So we're not talking about people having to drive with toggle switches."

Though he assured that while the vessels will not only locate the enemy, but lock him in sights, a human will have the final say on any use of weapons.

We have every intention to use those unmanned systems to engage a threat. There is always a human in the loop of that designation of the target and if so, the destruction of the target.

The ONR says that after the test, which was a resounding success, the new robotic systems could be rolled out in twelve months. And while initially they may be used for escort missions in high-risk areas, they should eventually become ubiquitous.