The U.S. Navy's Future Is In Robot Warships

David Axe, National Interest: The U.S. Navy Is Developing Robot Warships for Fighting China

The goal, according to a June 2019 report from Ronald O’Rourke, a naval expert with the Congressional Research Service, is to deploy a fleet that can spread out during wartime, absorb Chinese missile attacks then quickly strike back.

While the American fleet throughout its history has shifted back and forth between naval concepts favoring fewer large ships or more smaller ones, the fleet architecture currently under development for the first time includes large numbers of robotic vessels.

The goal, according to a June 2019 report from Ronald O’Rourke, a naval expert with the Congressional Research Service, is to deploy a fleet that can spread out during wartime, absorb Chinese missile attacks then quickly strike back.

In today’s fleet of around 290 warships, there are two large warships such as 9,000-ton destroyers for every two small ones such as 3,000-ton Littoral Combat Ships. According to O’Rourke, the Navy wants to flip that ratio as it works toward a bigger fleet of as many as 355 ships. Sometime in the 2030s, there could be two small vessels for every large one.

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WNU Editor: The US. Navy is behind the air force when it comes to unmanned assets. But it looks like they are now catching up.

Navy Wants 10-Ship Armed Unmanned ‘Ghost Fleet’ To Supplement Its Manned Force

A Naval Sea Systems Command-developed Iraqi 60-meter Offshore Support Vessel. US Navy

USNI News: Navy Wants 10-Ship Unmanned ‘Ghost Fleet’ to Supplement Manned Force

THE PENTAGON – As the Navy faces more complex threats to its manned ships from Russia and China, the service is moving quickly to field an unmanned “Ghost Fleet” — a new breed of armed unmanned surface combatants will add more sensors and weapons to the current fleet.

In Fiscal Year 2020, the Navy has budgeted $400 million for two of the proposed large unmanned surface vehicles in its research and development budget line. The Navy plans to continue buying two a year until FY 2024, for a total of about $2.7 billion.

“These are 200- to 300-foot [vessels], 2,000 tons. I’m not sure what the final hull form will be, that’s what we are using today in terms of what the Ghost Fleet buy will be,” Rear Adm. Randy Crites, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget, said on Tuesday during a press budget briefing.

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WNU Editor: What the US Navy essentially wants are small 200 - 300 foot warships that are unmanned but filled with weapon systems and sensors.