What went wrong? Why the US has give a new role to its USVs?

By Boyko Nikolov

We publish an analysis of the Ukrainian website for defense and security Defense Express

PANAGYURISHTE, ($1=1.66 Bulgarian Levas) – U.S. Navy theorists believe surface unmanned aerial vehicles are better entrusted with conducting intelligence and electronic warfare against the enemy fleet.

Future of the US Navy lies in small, deadly and fast drone ships
Photo credti: DARPA

In April 2021, the US Navy conducted the first-ever training, during which not only “classic” surface ships were involved in combat firing, but also the unmanned surface ships Sea Hunter [SH1] and Seahawk [SH2]. The purpose of these exercises is to develop an algorithm for the use of unmanned warships in combat situations.

And something seems to have gone wrong after the US Navy decided to give surface drones a different role – conducting intelligence and electronic warfare, instead of defeating enemy ships.

The Naval News portal writes that the US Navy has held a virtual symposium on the role of unmanned systems in modern naval warfare.

The main result of this measure – American sailors agreed that unmanned surface ships should not duplicate the functions of their “classic” counterparts, such as combat operations.

Instead, surface drones should be used for tasks that may be beyond the power of manned ships, such as conducting long-term “significant stay” patrols or conducting “high-risk reconnaissance missions”. As additional options, drones can take on tasks such as fighting enemy mines, monitoring surface, and underwater conditions, conducting radar reconnaissance and participating in cyberwars against enemy ships.

On the one hand, theorists of the US Navy note that surface drones are a much more flexible tool for solving the outlined problems than unmanned aerial vehicles.

On the other hand, they note that the most important unresolved technological problem is the protection of the onboard equipment of their drones from the intervention of the enemy REB.

The US Navy is not even thinking about how to ensure the proper survival of its promising drones.

However, as US military experts themselves point out, “the sooner they address all issues related to the use of surface drones, the faster the US Navy’s progress in this type of armament.”

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