US Navy Wants to Use ‘Drone Ships’ to Compete With China Despite Concerns Over ‘Unproven Technology’
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US Navy Wants to Use ‘Drone Ships’ to Compete With China Despite Concerns Over ‘Unproven Technology’
US Navy Wants to Use ‘Drone Ships’ to Compete With China Despite Concerns Over ‘Unproven Technology’
The latest attempts by the American Navy to introduce new technologies into new warships and armaments did not go well recently. Considerable amount of… 01.08.2022, Sputnik International
2022-08-01T13:42+0000
2022-08-01T13:42+0000
2022-08-01T13:42+0000
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The US Navy is placing its hopes on the sea-born drone – crewless vessels – as the next step in a “pacing challenge” the Pentagon believes the US is engaged in with China.The Navy thinks that by developing, manufacturing and deploying such drones near Chinese territory, Washington will be able to at least buy itself some time in the technology race with Beijing, while also deterring a possible invasion in Taiwan. China considers the latter to be a breakaway province.Some $433 million has already been allocated in a new American defense budget for the development and manufacturing of “crewless surface vessels”, which the Navy considers a relatively cheap way of remaining one step ahead of China.The unmanned vessels are supposed to have adequate ranges for using weaponry, and can be used for scouting missions. The first models of maritime drones have already been tested by the US 5th Fleet in the Middle East during the naval exercise with allies in the region in June.Among them were cutter-like Devil Ray T-38 unmanned craft, which can be used for logistics, carrying 2,050 kilograms of payload. Another drone to take part in the test was the Saildrone Explorer – an autonomous unmanned surface vehicle (USV), which can be used for long-term monitoring missions due to being powered by solar panels installed on the sail and other parts of the craft.The US Navy has plans for weapons-carrying maritime drones as well, however, plans face some skepticism among lawmakers. One of them, Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono recalled the Navy’s recent failures with the introduction of new warships and weapons based on high-technology that wasn’t thoroughly tested.The naval force namely faced rising, insurmountable costs maintaining armaments for its cutting edge “stealth destroyer”, dubbed the “Advanced Gun System”. Propulsion systems issues on some of the newest warships have prompted their early retirement and the new Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, which is set to replace steam-powered ones on future aircraft carriers, has proven to be unreliable so far, with 10% of launches failing.
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us, china, drone, arms race
The latest attempts by the American Navy to introduce new technologies into new warships and armaments did not go well recently. Considerable amount of additions proved to be either unreliable of financially not sustainable.
The US Navy is placing its hopes on the sea-born drone – crewless vessels – as the next step in a “pacing challenge” the Pentagon believes the US is engaged in with China.
The Navy thinks that by developing, manufacturing and deploying such drones near Chinese territory, Washington will be able to at least buy itself some time in the technology race with Beijing, while also deterring a possible invasion in Taiwan. China considers the latter to be a breakaway province.
Some $433 million has already been allocated in a new American defense budget for the development and manufacturing of “crewless surface vessels”, which the Navy considers a relatively cheap way of remaining one step ahead of China.
The unmanned vessels are supposed to have adequate ranges for using weaponry, and can be used for scouting missions. The first models of maritime drones have already been tested by the US 5th Fleet in the Middle East during the naval exercise with allies in the region in June.
Among them were cutter-like Devil Ray T-38 unmanned craft, which can be used for logistics, carrying 2,050 kilograms of payload. Another drone to take part in the test was the Saildrone Explorer – an autonomous unmanned surface vehicle (USV), which can be used for long-term monitoring missions due to being powered by solar panels installed on the sail and other parts of the craft.
The US Navy has plans for weapons-carrying maritime drones as well, however, plans face some skepticism among lawmakers. One of them, Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono recalled the Navy’s recent failures with the introduction of new warships and weapons based on high-technology that wasn’t thoroughly tested.
“The Navy must get this right the first time and support rigorous testing with prototypes before committing to buying a fleet,” the senator said.
The naval force namely faced rising, insurmountable costs maintaining armaments for its cutting edge “stealth destroyer”, dubbed the “Advanced Gun System”. Propulsion systems issues on some of the newest warships have prompted their early retirement and the new Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, which is set to replace steam-powered ones on future aircraft carriers, has proven to be unreliable so far, with 10% of launches failing.
