US Navy drone fleet meant to take on China not going well

▤ Summary

The US Navy’s autonomous drone boat program has hit several setbacks during recent tests off the California coast. Software glitches, communication breakdowns, and human error contributed to crashes and a capsizing incident involving vessels from Saronic and BlackSea Technologies. The Pentagon has also paused a roughly $20 million autonomy software contract with L3Harris while it reviews the broader unmanned maritime effort. Despite the problems, the Navy and the Pentagon still plan to expand autonomous systems under the Replicator program and related procurement efforts.

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