Lawmakers advocated for increasing production of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the primary type of ship Bath Iron Works builds, to help counter China's growing fleet.
Operationalizing Distributed Maritime Operations cimsec.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cimsec.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A hastily-developed shipbuilding plan rushed out near the end of the Trump Administration set a very modest goal of a 500-ship Navy, but it would achieve that number at a snail s pace where the fleet would not reach 500 ships until 2045. We simply can t wait 25 years.
By
Christopher Lehman Sr. on January 27, 2021 at 6:55 PM
Heritage Trustee Since 1989 (Apr. 7, 2016) Sea Hunter, an entirely new class of unmanned ocean-going vessel gets underway on the Williammette River following a christening ceremony in Portland. U.S. Navy photo by John F. Williams/Released
Key Takeaways
One crucial feature of Echo Voyager is the modular payload system that allows it to take on different payloads to support different missions.
In its 2021 budget request to Congress, the U.S. Navy asked for $580 million for research and development of unmanned vessels.
The appropriation is essential so the future Navy would include large and medium unmanned surface vessels and large unmanned submarines.
The service will need newer, better high-tech drones to help fight future conflicts.
When the U.S. Navy’s adversaries have reconnaissance capabilities and firepower to locate and destroy virtually any target, how can it achieve and sustain ocean supremacy? That’s the question facing the U.S. Navy right now, and the answer is very likely to include a large number of unmanned ships, both submersible and on the ocean surface.
By September of next year, engineering on navigational capabilities, autonomy and payload deployment for the Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV) program, a major step toward achieving this superiority, is expected to be completed.