Report: US Military Falling Behind in Sea Drone Development
2024-05-09
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1U.S. efforts to expand the use of sea drones to defend against possible military threats are reportedly falling behind because of other American defense goals.
2Reporters from Reuters said they spoke with several people who have "direct knowledge of the U.S. sea drone plans."
3The news agency spoke with officials in the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense.
4They also spoke with executives with sea drone companies.
5Defense Department spokesman Eric Pahon told Reuters that U.S. military officials recognize the importance of using drones in operations at sea.
6Pahon noted that military leaders had seen the ways Ukrainian forces had successfully used sea drones against Russian ships in the Ukraine war.
7In recent months, Yemeni-backed Houthi rebels have also used sea drones to attack private ships passing through the Red Sea.
8Pahon said those examples had caught the attention of top military leaders.
9He said U.S. military officials would like to try using sea drones to answer moves by China in recent years to build up naval power in the Pacific.
10Last August, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced a new agency program called Replicator.
11It aims to deploy hundreds of small, relatively low-cost air and sea drones over a period of 18 to 24 months in hopes of limiting Chinese threats.
12Bryan Clark is an adviser to the Navy on drones.
13He is also a researcher at the Hudson Institute, a Washington D.C. international policy group.
14He estimates the U.S. Navy has around 100 small drones for use on the ocean surface and another 100 underwater drones.
15Experts say China has a similar-sized sea drone force.
16Reuters reports that U.S. military officials told the news agency the Replicator announcement came after years of repeated warnings, even from people inside the Department of Defense.
17The warnings centered on a lack of progress in expanding its sea drone program, while efforts by other nations moved forward.
18Two Navy sources and three officials with sea drone manufacturers described to Reuters one of the biggest barriers to progress.
19They described a budget process that centers too much on developing big ships and submarines built by established defense contractors.
20"At some point, you hit the D.C. problem," said Philipp Stratmann.
21He is the chief of Ocean Power Technologies, a New Jersey company that supplies the Navy with one of its drones.
22"You hit the fact that there is a military industrial complex that has the best lobbyists and knows exactly how the money flows and contracting works in the (Department of Defense)," Stratmann said.
23A Navy spokesperson told Reuters it "acquires capabilities based on fleet demand signals."
24This means listening to officers operating at sea about the immediate needs they have.
25A Navy spokesperson told the news agency it has a budget of $172 million this year for small and medium-sized underwater sea drones.
26This amount would fall to $101.8 million in 2025.
27That is a very small part of the $63 billion Navy budget that President Joe Biden's administration proposed for 2025.
28Two Navy sources told Reuters that when sea drones were deployed at sea in recent years, there was not effective expertise to use them.
29They said the Navy does not have enough trained sailors to pilot the drones or to examine the large amount of data the drones collect.
30The sources asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject.
31A Navy spokesperson said the Navy is currently in the process of improving its data collection and examination methods.
32Defense Department spokesperson Pahon said military efforts had been "laser-focused" on developing new "innovation" over the last three years.
33That includes the use of sea drones.
34Speaking about the department's budget challenges, Pahon said officials were trying to use creative ways to cross "the valley of death."
35This term is used to describe the complex approval process that new innovations must go through before they can be widely produced and deployed.
36I'm Bryan Lynn.
1U.S. efforts to expand the use of sea drones to defend against possible military threats are reportedly falling behind because of other American defense goals. 2Reporters from Reuters said they spoke with several people who have "direct knowledge of the U.S. sea drone plans." The news agency spoke with officials in the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense. They also spoke with executives with sea drone companies. 3Defense Department spokesman Eric Pahon told Reuters that U.S. military officials recognize the importance of using drones in operations at sea. 4Pahon noted that military leaders had seen the ways Ukrainian forces had successfully used sea drones against Russian ships in the Ukraine war. In recent months, Yemeni-backed Houthi rebels have also used sea drones to attack private ships passing through the Red Sea. 5Pahon said those examples had caught the attention of top military leaders. He said U.S. military officials would like to try using sea drones to answer moves by China in recent years to build up naval power in the Pacific. 6Last August, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced a new agency program called Replicator. It aims to deploy hundreds of small, relatively low-cost air and sea drones over a period of 18 to 24 months in hopes of limiting Chinese threats. 7Bryan Clark is an adviser to the Navy on drones. He is also a researcher at the Hudson Institute, a Washington D.C. international policy group. He estimates the U.S. Navy has around 100 small drones for use on the ocean surface and another 100 underwater drones. Experts say China has a similar-sized sea drone force. 8Reuters reports that U.S. military officials told the news agency the Replicator announcement came after years of repeated warnings, even from people inside the Department of Defense. The warnings centered on a lack of progress in expanding its sea drone program, while efforts by other nations moved forward. 9Two Navy sources and three officials with sea drone manufacturers described to Reuters one of the biggest barriers to progress. They described a budget process that centers too much on developing big ships and submarines built by established defense contractors. 10"At some point, you hit the D.C. problem," said Philipp Stratmann. He is the chief of Ocean Power Technologies, a New Jersey company that supplies the Navy with one of its drones. 11"You hit the fact that there is a military industrial complex that has the best lobbyists and knows exactly how the money flows and contracting works in the (Department of Defense)," Stratmann said. 12A Navy spokesperson told Reuters it "acquires capabilities based on fleet demand signals." This means listening to officers operating at sea about the immediate needs they have. 13A Navy spokesperson told the news agency it has a budget of $172 million this year for small and medium-sized underwater sea drones. This amount would fall to $101.8 million in 2025. That is a very small part of the $63 billion Navy budget that President Joe Biden's administration proposed for 2025. 14Two Navy sources told Reuters that when sea drones were deployed at sea in recent years, there was not effective expertise to use them. They said the Navy does not have enough trained sailors to pilot the drones or to examine the large amount of data the drones collect. The sources asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject. 15A Navy spokesperson said the Navy is currently in the process of improving its data collection and examination methods. Defense Department spokesperson Pahon said military efforts had been "laser-focused" on developing new "innovation" over the last three years. That includes the use of sea drones. 16Speaking about the department's budget challenges, Pahon said officials were trying to use creative ways to cross "the valley of death." This term is used to describe the complex approval process that new innovations must go through before they can be widely produced and deployed. 17I'm Bryan Lynn. 18Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 19_____________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21drone - n. an unpiloted aircraft 22lobbyist - n. someone who tries to persuade a politician or official group to do something or provide money to an effort 23acquire - v. to get something 24fleet - n. a group of ships that make up a nation's navy 25laser-focused - adj. intensely focused on centered on something 26innovation - n. the introduction of changes or new ideas, especially when developing new products