USN unmanned ambitions face a crucial year
Hurdles await the USN in its effort to developed greater unmanned capabilities as Congress remains to be convinced.
Despite financial pressures, political opposition and operational challenges, the USN is looking to make progress on a series of unmanned platform programmes in 2021 in line with its ambition to create a hybrid manned-unmanned force for the next generation.
In particular the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) and Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) are intended to form the surface centrepieces of the future fleet, providing distributed lethality and sensor networking.
According to the USN FY2021 budget submission, the LUSV and MUSV are intended to be ‘key enablers’ of the Distributed Maritime Operations concept, which includes being able to forward deploy
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Euronaval 2026: by the power of six, Fincantieri’s MMMV reflects modular naval shift]()
Euronaval 2026: by the power of six, Fincantieri’s MMMV reflects modular naval shift
The 50m, six-person ship from the Italian shipbuilder carries swappable, containerised payloads instead of a fixed mission, reflecting a shift that is becoming increasingly evident.
-
![Canada’s submarine availability under pressure as Chicoutimi is unlikely to return to front-line duties]()
Canada’s submarine availability under pressure as Chicoutimi is unlikely to return to front-line duties
HMCS Victoria and HMCS Windsor could return from their current deep maintenance, but unconfirmed operational timelines leave questions over patrol capacity before the first CPSP arrives.
-
![Patrol vessel demand and partnerships anchor North Africa’s naval market]()
Patrol vessel demand and partnerships anchor North Africa’s naval market
Fincantieri and Naval Group are positioning for long-term work in Egypt and Morocco as demand for local industrial partnerships grows.
-
![UK MoD faces ‘serious’ ASW gap as Defence Committee outlines Arctic requirements]()
UK MoD faces ‘serious’ ASW gap as Defence Committee outlines Arctic requirements
Anti-submarine warfare, uncrewed vessels and seabed monitoring top the demand list in the Defence Committee’s High North roadmap for the 2030s.
