{"id":84227,"date":"2020-07-21T17:41:47","date_gmt":"2020-07-21T17:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/07\/21\/the-us-navy-is-trying-to-get-its-act-together-on-unmanned-systems\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:12:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:12:56","slug":"the-us-navy-is-trying-to-get-its-act-together-on-unmanned-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/07\/21\/the-us-navy-is-trying-to-get-its-act-together-on-unmanned-systems\/","title":{"rendered":"US Navy to develop drone deployment strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Navy\u2019s top officer has ordered his staff to develop a comprehensive strategy to field<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2020\/06\/10\/if-the-us-navy-isnt-careful-its-new-unmanned-tanker-drone-could-face-a-3-year-delay\/\" target=_blank> unmanned systems in the air<\/a>, on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2019\/01\/15\/the-us-navy-moves-toward-unleashing-killer-robot-ships-on-the-worlds-oceans\/\" target=_blank>the water <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2020\/06\/01\/to-compete-with-china-an-internal-pentagon-study-looks-to-pour-money-into-robot-submarines\/\" target=_blank>under the sea <\/a>over the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dubbed \u201cunmanned campaign plan,\u201d it looks to tie together all the disparate programs into a coherent way forward, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told Defense News in a July 16 interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve got \u2026 a family of unmanned systems we\u2019re working on,\u201d Gilday said. \u201cUndersea we\u2019ve got extra-large, large and medium [unmanned underwater vehicles]; on the surface we have small, medium and large [unmanned surface vessels]; and in the air we have a number of programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat I\u2019ve asked the N9 to do is come to me with a campaign plan that ties all those together with objectives at the end. I\u2019ve got a bunch of horses in the race, but at some point I have to put my money down on the thoroughbred that\u2019s going to take me across the finish line so I can make an investment in a platform I have high confidence in and that I can scale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2020\/06\/19\/the-pentagon-wants-to-forge-ahead-with-robot-warships-but-congress-wants-to-slow-the-train\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sea_hunter.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The Pentagon wants to forge ahead with robot warships, but Congress wants to slow the train<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Lawmakers are wary of giving the Navy too much leash on unmanned warships.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gilday\u2019s drive toward an unmanned campaign plan comes after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/naval\/2019\/12\/21\/the-us-navy-gets-its-large-unmanned-surface-vessels-in-2020-with-strings-attached\/\" target=_blank>two consecutive years<\/a> of congressional criticism that the Navy is forging ahead too quickly on unmanned systems without first having designed or developed critical new technologies and mechanical systems. The criticisms have resulted in marks in legislation that deliberately slows down the development of the systems that both the Navy and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/breaking-news\/2020\/02\/09\/defense-secretary-mark-esper-on-how-the-navy-can-get-to-355-ships\/\" target=_blank>the Office of Secretary of Defense<\/a> have said are necessary to offset a rising China without breaking the bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the interview, Gilday acknowledged the Navy hadn\u2019t adequately mapped out its unmanned future in a way that would inspire confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat I\u2019ve found is that we didn\u2019t necessarily have the rigor that\u2019s required across a number of programs that would bring those together in a way that\u2019s driven toward objectives with milestones,\u201d Gilday said. \u201cIf you took a look at [all the programs], where are there similarities and where are there differences? Where am I making progress in meeting conditions and meeting milestones that we can leverage in other experiments? At what point do I reach a decision point where I drop a program and double down on a program that I can accelerate?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the most recent National Defense Authorization Act, currently working its way through Congress, lawmakers appear poised to restrict funding for procurement of any large unmanned surface vessels, or LUSV, until the Navy can certify it has worked out an appropriate hull as well as mechanical and electrical system, and that the design can autonomously operate for 30 consecutive days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"9600\" height=\"6750\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MQ-25_FF_3.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27177\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MQ-25_FF_3.jpg.jpg 9600w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MQ-25_FF_3.jpg.jpg?resize=300,211 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MQ-25_FF_3.jpg.jpg?resize=768,540 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MQ-25_FF_3.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,720 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MQ-25_FF_3.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1080 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MQ-25_FF_3.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1440 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 9600px) 100vw, 9600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The MQ-25 Stingray, which will be the first unmanned aircraft to be integrated into the US Navy&#8217;s air wing, took its first test flight Sept. 19. (Image: Boeing)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Furthermore, the Navy must demonstrate a reliable operating system and ensure any systems integrated into the platform \u2014 sonars, radars, etc. \u2014 are likewise functioning and reliable, according the text of the subcommittee\u2019s markup of the fiscal 2021 NDAA, Congress\u2019s annual defense policy bill, which was obtained by Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In short, the language would mean the Navy could not spend procurement dollars on a large unmanned surface vessel until it has a working model, and it may not try to develop those technologies on the fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a June interview with Defense News, Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., head of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, said the panel supports unmanned system development but doesn\u2019t want the Navy repeat mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe message I want people to understand is that we fully support the move toward unmanned, whether that\u2019s on the surface or undersea,\u201d Courtney said. \u201cBut we want to make sure that some of the real nuts and bolts issues \u2026 are worked out before we start building large unmanned platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe want to make sure that, again, we don\u2019t end up with situations like LCS [the littoral combat ship] where we\u2019re trying to figure out what the mission is at the same time we\u2019re building them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Conceptualize and control<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s a criticism the CNO hears and is working to address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gilday is pushing on two major efforts to get better answers on what the Navy is trying to accomplish with unmanned systems: a concept of operations, and a network to control them with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe concept of operations that the fleet is working on right now will be delivered in the fall, and that talks conceptually about how we intend to employ unmanned in distributed maritime operations,\u201d Gilday said, referencing a Navy plan to physically expand its maneuvers to complicate enemy targeting rather than aggregate around an aircraft carrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2020\/01\/02\/fleet-commander-directs-the-us-navys-surface-force-to-develop-concepts-for-unmanned-ships\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sea-hunter-1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Fleet commander directs US Navy\u2019s surface force to develop concepts for unmanned ships<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. Navy is making moves to develop concepts for the integration of unmanned surface vessels into its surface fleet.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But beyond how unmanned tech will fit into a distributed fleet, the Navy is looking at where those systems should be located and how they will be supported. That\u2019s leading the Navy to consider stationing the systems and support elements overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat would a day-to-day laydown look like of unmanned forward?\u201d Gilday asked. \u201cThe Navy has got to be forward: For obvious reasons we don\u2019t want the fight back here; the Navy exists to operate forward. That\u2019s where we need to be in numbers. And with unmanned, if you are not there at the right time, you are irrelevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere also has to be a number of unmanned [systems] forward. I can\u2019t just decide to rally unmanned out of San Diego or in the Pacific northwest at a time when they\u2019ll be too late to need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The other big piece of the puzzle is something Gilday has previously referred to as akin to a new \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/naval\/2019\/12\/06\/us-navy-air-force-team-up-on-new-manhattan-project\/\" target=_blank>Manhattan Project,<\/a>\u201d a rapid, well-funded project to field a network that can control all the various unmanned and networked systems, sensors and weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2020\/06\/02\/air-force-to-dole-out-nearly-1-billion-for-abms-development\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"187\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/191218-F-QF982-0076.JPG_fba0aa.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Air Force issues 28 contracts worth up to nearly $1 billion each for ABMS<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">However, Air Force officials note that they have requested $3.3 billion to spend on ABMS over the next five years in the president&#039;s fiscal 2021 budget request.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And to do that, he\u2019s linking in with the Air Force\u2019s Joint All Domain Command and Control, or JADC2, effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe other piece of this is the Navy Tactical Grid,\u201d Gilday explained. \u201cComing into the job, the projections for the Navy Tactical Grid was for delivery in about 2035. I knew that was way, way too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo, on a handshake with [Air Force Chief of Staff] Gen. [David] Goldfein, I said: \u2018Look, I am all in, and my vision is that the Navy Tactical Grid would be the naval plug into JADC2.&#8217; So the Navy Tactical Grid ends up being a very critical element of the unmanned campaign plan because it becomes the main artery to operate those platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWithout it, I have a bunch of unmanned that I shouldn\u2019t be building because I can\u2019t control it very well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After hitting a wall of skepticism in Congress, the Navy is trying to do what it takes to gain support for unmanned systems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":69162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,88,89,12,26,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3231],"class_list":["post-84227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"J7CC4BOOV5HU7PPXSNTBO4RLDE","arc_canonical_url":"\/naval\/2020\/07\/21\/the-us-navy-is-trying-to-get-its-act-together-on-unmanned-systems\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US Navy to develop drone deployment strategy - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After hitting a wall of skepticism in Congress, the Navy is trying to do what it takes to gain support for unmanned systems.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US Navy to develop drone deployment strategy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After hitting a wall of skepticism in Congress, the Navy is trying to do what it takes to gain support for unmanned systems.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/07\/21\/the-us-navy-is-trying-to-get-its-act-together-on-unmanned-systems\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-21T17:41:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:12:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David B. Larter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David B. Larter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/21\\\/the-us-navy-is-trying-to-get-its-act-together-on-unmanned-systems\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/21\\\/the-us-navy-is-trying-to-get-its-act-together-on-unmanned-systems\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            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