Army Deploys AI and Autonomous Watercraft to Boost Pacific Supply Operations

The Army’s 8th Theater Sustainment Command is leveraging artificial intelligence to improve decision‑making in supply‑chain management across the Pacific, the unit’s commander said on Friday.

“Logistics today mirrors many commercial sector practices, so we’re collaborating with global partners to understand regional warehouse management and optimize delivery timing over vast distances,” Maj. Gen. Gavin Gardner told reporters. “We’re especially focused on how to balance demand analysis over space and time, ensuring we stock the right items without over‑inventorying, and AI is a vital tool in that process.”

The command is already fielding autonomous watercraft in the Pacific and is working with industry to design and test larger, faster vessels.

“Our industry partners are constructing vessels over 100 feet long that can carry between four and eight 20‑foot equivalent units—essentially the same container sizes currently used in major ports,” Gardner added. “These systems are actively being tested, and the 8th TSC, along with the rest of the Army, is pioneering their deployment in the region, demonstrating that success here translates globally.”

However, existing U.S. maritime regulations require a minimum crew on vessels, limiting autonomous operations to testing or pilot programs. “We need the maritime laws that govern the Coast Guard’s current mandates to evolve, allowing unmanned systems to enter ports with the same efficiency as manned vessels,” Gardner said.

Gardner also expressed a goal of fielding between 30 and 100 medium‑sized autonomous vessels across the Indo‑Pacific theater—roaming from Korea and Japan to the Philippines, Australia, Singapore, and Thailand—to meet the Army’s continuous demand for timely supply deliveries.

The unit operates a single Maneuver Support Vessel (Light), an unmanned landing craft intended to replace the Vietnam‑era Landing Craft Mechanized‑8. After nine months of testing, data from the MSV‑Light is shaping future designs. It is nearly four times faster than the older craft, smaller, and capable of operating in shallower water.

“We can transport up to two HIMARS onto the MSV‑Light, rapidly approach a beach, deploy them, and have the platforms execute their missions,” Gardner explained. “We’ve rehearsed this procedure extensively with the 25th Infantry Division and the 3rd Multi‑Domain Task Force, and we’ve also equipped the vessel with Marine NMESIS anti‑ship systems for quick insertion.”

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