So much for a captain going down with his ship:
Royal Navy ships could in future be controlled remotely by captains on land using new augmented reality headsets and artificial intelligence technologies being developed by a UK defence company.
The technology could pave the way for semi-autonomous naval vessels with much smaller crews, according to BAE Systems.
Transferring naval command rooms that are currenttly always on-board vessels onto land could reduce the risks to sailors and improve safety during combat, according to the British defence company.
Oh, and this is the good part prior to being battered about the head and shoulders by the clue bat:
The concept is likely to take time to be adopted because it runs strongly against naval traditions which dictate that a ship's captain needs to be on board but was already technically feasible, he added.
“I think the Navy would be very suspicious of the idea at first."
Ya think? You are Goddamn right the Royal Navy will be suspicious of this stupid idea that flies in the face of freaking centuries of experience. Technical feasibility is not a reason to do something counter to that hard-won experience.
I don't think commanders and leadership should ever be based ashore. It's hard enough to maintain good leadership in person.
If basic seamen and supporting jobs can be done from shore, that's great. But not commanders. Leadership is not a technology issue.
I must admit however that I was thinking small with my reachback for the squad idea.
