Is The U.S. Navy's Plan For Robot Ships 'Dead In The Water'

One of two prototypes purchased by the Office of the Secretary of Defense's Strategic Capabilities Office for its Ghost Fleet Overlord program, aimed at fielding an autonomous surface ship capable of launching missiles. The Navy hopes the Ghost Fleet program will lead them to rapid advances in unmanned technology. (Photo: DoD)

Defense News: Unclear on unmanned: The US Navy’s plans for robot ships are on the rocks

WASHINGTON – After a bruising, year-long fight with Congress, part of the Navy’s plan to field unmanned ships appears to be on life support, making 2021 a crucial year for plotting a path forward.

In the 2021 appropriations and policy bills, lawmakers eviscerated funding for the Navy’s Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) development program and laid in stringent requirements for the Navy to work out nearly every component of the new vessel before moving forward with an acquisition program. 

In all, lawmakers slashed more than $370 million from the $464 million the Pentagon requested. 

The LUSV is supposed to be the Navy’s answer to a troubling problem: How does the service quickly and cheaply field hundreds of new missile tubes to make up for dozens of large-capacity ships due to retire over the coming years? 

But Congress is not convinced the Navy did the proper analysis prior to launching into a technically risky, 2,000-ton robot ship. 

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WNU Editor: I do not see the Biden administration allocating funds to assist the US Navy in resolving  its projected "missile shortage" in the coming years.

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