During a U.S. Navy test conducted last period off the coast of California, which aimed to present the state-of-the-art autonomous Pentagon drones, 1 of the ships unexpectedly got stuck. While officials were trying to fix the software error, another drone hit the starboard side of the standing boat, flew over the deck and fell back into the water. This incidental was captured on the films to which the agency Reuters reached.
So far an undisclosed incidental involving 2 ships built by rival American defence companies, Saronic and BlackSea Technologies, is 1 of the fresh failures in the Pentagon's efforts to build a fleet of autonomous ships, according to respective people acquainted with the program. A fewer weeks earlier, during another Navy test, the captain of the support boat was thrown into the water after another autonomous BlackSea ship that towed, abruptly rushed, tipping the support boat, according to 4 people acquainted with the case. The captain was rescued and refused medical attention. The incidental was first reported by defence Scoop.
According to a individual with direct cognition of this subject who requested anonymity, both incidents were the consequence of a combination of software failure and human error, including a break in communication between on-board systems and external autonomous software. The Navy and Saronic and BlackSea refused to comment on the incidents.
U.S. military commanders, noticing the immense influence of sea drones on the war in Ukraine, repeatedly reiterated that they needed autonomous swarms of air and sea drones to impede China's possible advancement through the Taiwan Straits. Taiwan itself began to get its own sea drones.
Drones developed in Ukraine, which frequently look like fast boats without seats and are capable of carrying weapons, explosives and reflection equipment, are primarily remote-controlled and cost around $250,000 – making them optimal for a kamikaze mission that effectively neutralized Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
Meanwhile, the United States intends to build an autonomous naval fleet that will be able to decision in groups and without human interference – this is simply a more ambitious task, but involves higher costs, reaching up to a fewer million dollars per motorboat. Recent failures in tests item the challenges facing the Navy, which implements fresh technologies, said Bryan Clark, an expert on the autonomous war at the Hudson Institute. The Navy will gotta adapt its ‘tactics to better realize what systems can and cannot do’.
But the Navy's problems are not limited to launching boats: its autonomous naval drone data acquisition unit besides felt the effects of firing its highest rank admiral, and a high-ranking Pentagon authoritative expressed concerns about the program during a sincere gathering with the Naval Command last month, as determined by the Reuters agency. Since the fresh incident, the Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) of the Pentagon, which acquired technology for testing, has suspended for an indefinite period of time a contract – worth nearly $20 million – with L3Harris, 1 of the companies providing autonomous software utilized to control any ships, as claimed by 2 people acquainted with the case.
The Pentagon did not answer questions about the causes of the accidents or the suspension of the L3Harris contract, which was not previously reported. Pentagon spokesperson said drone investigating was part of a "competitive and iterative approach between operators and industry". L3Harris refused to comment on the deal and addressed questions to the DIU. DIU refused to comment. "L3Harris guarantees the safety, integrity and functionality of our autonomous command and control product," said Toby Magsig, who oversees L3Harris's autonomous software products.
ARRANGEMENT OF MARITIME DINGS
The Navy has allocated at least $160 million to BlackSea, which produces dozens of Global Independent Reconnaissance Craft units all month, according to order documents.
Saronic, which has late been valued at $4 billion in the financing circular supported by Andreessen Horowitz and 8VC, produces a competitive Corsair marine drone, but has not yet announced a large contract. national public procurement records show that the company has made at least $20 million in prototype contracts.
"These systems will play a key function in the future of the maritime war, expanding the scope of the fleet, improving situational awareness and expanding combat efficiency," said the acting chief of maritime operations Jim Kilby during a visit to BlackSea hotel in June.
Involvement in the Navy
Since his return to office, president Donald Trump has considered the usage of drone swarms to be the highest military priority. Last month's “Great Beautiful Act” Trump predicted nearly $5 billion for maritime autonomous systems.
However, so far the approach of the Navy has been met with skepticism from the fresh administration. In April, the Navy's key drone purchasing unit – known as the Executive Office Unmanned and tiny Combats (PEO USC) Program – praised in a post on LinkedIn a successful demonstration of BlackSea ship control software, calling it "a immense step forward in developing maritime autonomy".
In response, Colin Carroll, then chief of staff of Assistant Secretary of defence Steven Feinberg, suggested that the program duplicates another Pentagon activities. "I have a feeling there will be changes in the future of this programme," he replied to a post on LinkedIn. Carroll, who no longer works at the Pentagon, refused to comment further.
According to 4 people acquainted with the case, the USC PEO has late been reviewed due to a series of failures and can be restructured or closed. This happened 2 months after the Navy reported the release of unit commander, Rear Admiral Kevin Smith, due to a failure of assurance in his command after the General Inspector of the Navy justified his complaint. Reuters was incapable to contact Smith.
During the gathering last month, Feinberg interviewed Navy representatives about the capabilities of autonomous ships, including those implemented by PEO USC, as claimed by 3 people informed of the meeting. Feinberg was not impressed with any of the capabilities gained by the Navy and questioned their profitability, as they claimed.
Pentagon spokesperson said he would "not comment on private interior meetings" and asked questions about the USC PEO to the Navy. The Navy refused to comment on the gathering or review of the purchasing unit. A spokesperson for Timothy Hawkins said that PEO USC maintains its mission, including the function of purchasing authority in the field of maintenance and modernisation of unmanned marine systems.
This confusion takes place at a time erstwhile shipbuilders and software providers are trying to safe even larger autonomous marine projects specified as unmanned submarines and transport ships. Last week PEO USC began accepting offers for Modular Surface Attack Units. They aim to get average and large vessels capable of carrying containers, reconnaissance equipment and impacting. TX Hammes, an autonomous weapons expert and associate of the Atlantic Council, said the Navy was moving in unknown waters, attempting to rapidly alter the decades-long tradition.
"We have a strategy that is accustomed to building large projects, making decisions takes years, and now abruptly it is required to work quickly," he said.
