The US Navy is developing naval drones to counter China, but the quality of the drones has been questioned. They have been failing during testing, Reuters reports.
Tests of unmanned boats, which were supposed to demonstrate their capabilities to Pentagon representatives, took place off the coast of California. However, during the test, two devices failed at once.
The first one stopped unexpectedly, and while specialists were trying to fix the software glitch, the other drone crashed into the starboard side of a boat drifting nearby, "jumped" over the deck, and fell back into the water.
According to the agency, this happened last month, but the relevant information has only become known now. Only drones built by competing defense technology companies Saronic and BlackSea Technologies were affected in the incident.
According to people familiar with the matter, the episode was one of a series of setbacks in the Pentagon's efforts to create a fleet of autonomous ships.
A few weeks ago, during a separate test, another incident occurred with another drone manufactured by BlackSea Technologies, which was being towed by a boat. At some point, the drone suddenly accelerated and crashed into a light vessel, and its captain fell into the water. Fortunately, no one was injured. The incident was first reported by Defense Scoop.
The accidents described were caused by software failures and human error, including communication problems between the drones' onboard systems and external software. Thus, the Pentagon's naval drone program is currently stalled.
It is noted that the American military leadership became interested in naval drones against the background of the effectiveness of such drones during the war in Ukraine. They have repeatedly stated that they need autonomous groups of air and sea drones to prevent a potential Chinese advance through the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, Taiwan itself has already begun developing its own naval drones.
Meanwhile, the US wants to create not just analogues of Ukrainian naval drones, but something more. If Ukrainian UAVs, as the agency writes, can carry weapons, explosives and surveillance equipment, perform the function of kamikaze, are mostly controlled remotely and cost about $250 thousand, then the American versions are planned to be made completely autonomous.
They are supposed to move in flocks and without human command, and the price of one such drone will be several million US dollars.
However, testing shows that American naval drones cannot yet perform the tasks that Ukrainian ones are capable of, let alone something more complex.
The Navy's problems go beyond simply keeping the boats running. The unit that handles naval drones has had its leadership fired, and an unnamed senior Pentagon official expressed concerns about the program during discussions with Navy leadership last month.
This is not the first problem the US has had with drones. Previously, the US tested an FPV interceptor drone, but it turned out to be worse than the Ukrainian solutions.