The United States Armed Forces are a primary adopter of unmanned, or uncrewed, systems, and as a result AUVSI is actively engaged in supporting the development and deployment of autonomous technology among all military branches. Every facet of uncrewed systems – in the air, ground, and maritime domains – are used in our military, and the U.S. Department of the Navy in particular has strategically engaged with our industry.
 
President Biden stated at the 2021 Virtual Munich Security Conference that, “The United States must renew America’s enduring advantages so that we can meet today’s challenges from a position of strength.” As parts of our naval fleet age to the limit of their usefulness, the Navy has developed a blueprint on how the branch will move toward an advanced, hybrid architecture of both crewed and uncrewed systems over the next 30 years. Released earlier this week, the Unmanned Campaign Plan will guide the service as it operates forward to prepare for and respond to 21st century challenges.
 
Today, the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces held a hearing to understand the significance and implementation of the plan. As Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy Jay Stefany told the committee, autonomous maritime systems offer important advantages in intelligence, surveillance, and logistics capabilities. By harnessing America’s existing technological expertise, our armed forces can deter adversaries in a more scalable, connected, and cost-effective way than ever before.
 
Vice Admiral James Kilby, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, discussed the importance of harnessing innovations from the private sector. Kilby emphasized how the Navy can expand capabilities by harnessing advancements being made in commercial and academic spaces, citing the service’s collaboration with AUVSI as a way they learn from the commercial industry.
 
Success will lie in the details, but the UCP is an important roadmap for future. A key goal of the framework is to provide a starting point to facilitate high-level discussions on implementation, and AUVSI looks forward to fostering partnerships to deliver on this vision. Register for our upcoming Unmanned Systems Defense series to hear insights from industry experts and military leadership about how unmanned systems developers in defense, civil, and academia can integrate existing technologies to reach key milestones.