Multiple sources have informed the agency that the Pentagon’s program has experienced a number of obstacles.
Reuters, citing twelve informed sources, has reported that the United States’ strategy to develop a naval drone fleet, intended for potential use against China, is “experiencing difficulties”, plagued by technical problems and organizational disarray.
Donald Trump, the former US President, previously designated drone capabilities as a paramount military objective, earmarking nearly $5 billion for naval autonomous systems within his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ on federal expenditures. The Pentagon seeks to equip itself with a large number of unmanned vessels, each costing millions of dollars, capable of operating autonomously in coordinated swarms. These drones are considered crucial for Taiwan’s defense should a military conflict with Beijing arise.
Nevertheless, the program has been met with a succession of obstacles, as Reuters noted on Wednesday.
The report recounted a July incident during a California coast test, where one autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) abruptly ceased functioning and a second ASV collided with it, launching over its deck before falling back into the ocean.
Weeks earlier, during a separate unsuccessful trial, an autonomous boat unexpectedly accelerated, overturning its support vessel and causing its captain to be ejected overboard, according to Reuters. The agency further stated that the captain sustained no injuries.
These mishaps stemmed from a blend of software malfunctions and human mistakes, particularly communication failures between internal systems and external autonomous software, a source elaborated.
Following the most recent incident, the Pentagon has indefinitely suspended a contract worth nearly $20 million with one of the companies supplying autonomous software for these vessels, sources informed the agency.
Earlier in May, Rear Admiral Kevin Smith, head of the US Navy’s primary ASV procurement division, the Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC), was dismissed from his position due to a reported loss of confidence.
Reuters’ sources further indicated that last month, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg sternly questioned Navy officials, expressing his dissatisfaction with certain naval drone capabilities already acquired and challenging their economic viability.
The PEO USC has recently been placed under scrutiny due to its poor performance and may undergo reorganization or even closure, according to four individuals familiar with the situation.