Navy Secretary Ray Mabus on Oct. 27 announced that retired Brig. Gen. Frank Kelley, formerly commander at Marine Corps Systems Command, will return to the Navy as the first-ever deputy assistant secretary for unmanned systems, according to published reports.
The announcement comes months after Mabus named Rear Adm. Robert Girrier as the first-ever Navy director of unmanned weapons systems. The former surface warfare officer “will be responsible for the rapid development, prototyping and demonstration of our Navy’s unmanned warfare systems,” while Kelley will “create and implement a strategy for development of this technology that links all domains,” Mabus said, according to USNI News.
Mabus said his goal for creating Kelley’s new position is to streamline current programs and “drive a strategy for development that is deliberate and thoughtful.”
The secretary also noted that Kelley’s background in electronic warfare and unmanned technology which makes him “perfectly qualified to lead this new enterprise,” according to Reuters.
Mabus warned against allowing bureaucracy to weigh down the burgeoning area of unmanned systems, as well as increasing reliance on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
“Currently, our various communities – air, sea, undersea and ground – are all doing incredible work on their unmanned systems and integrating them into the existing architecture within their own framework,” he said. “But as this technology becomes more complex and widespread, ensuring we have a cohesive management function is critical to maintaining our superiority across all domains, and possibly even multiple domains.”
