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On September 11, EurAsian Times quoted Rear Admiral Robert Gaucher as saying at the International Unmanned Vehicle Association’s annual defense show: “We are starting to tackle the fleet combat problem, focusing on drones in early 2021. The operations were conducted in the air, underwater and at sea, demonstrating how we can connect with the US Pacific Command.
The U.S. Navy regularly deals with fleet combat problems in the Pacific and Atlantic, which are often handled by carrier battle groups, Gaucher added. Bringing new unmanned technology into combat will be a major change for the US Navy, as it plans to invest billions of dollars in similar systems.
The United States Navy also emphasizes the importance of unmanned systems for maritime operations in the event of a conflict with China. Over the next five years, this force will require a $ 2 billion investment to build 10 large floating ships. However, the United States Congress expressed doubts, even discouraging the navy from buying such ships.
An X-47B drone aboard the US aircraft carrier George HW Bush. Photo: US Navy
The US Navy has been slow to implement unmanned systems and is slowly testing their capabilities. Before that, last year, they sent the 40-meter-long Sea Hunter autonomous boat from San Diego to Hawaii, and then back. It became the first ship to be successfully sailed automatically from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and back without a crew.
This shows that autonomous technology is ready to move from development and testing to executing advanced missions.
Another test involved a United States Navy self-propelled floating boat from Norfolk, Virginia, to North Carolina. US General Eric Austin said the ship could attack the target with kinetic weapons. The United States Navy is still in the planning stages of its unmanned combat fleet, which will include aspects of command, control, sensors and payload amid the provocative South China Sea.
Washington has recently sent warships and aircraft carriers to the South China Sea with increasing frequency, even as the US Navy is struggling with several outbreaks of Covid-19.
Pham Nghia (according to EurAsian Times)
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