Close Menu
Technology Mag

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    The Ploopy Knob is an open-source control dial for your PC

    July 4, 2025

    Laid-off workers should use AI to manage their emotions, says Xbox exec

    July 4, 2025

    Despite Protests, Elon Musk Secures Air Permit for xAI

    July 4, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Subscribe
    Technology Mag
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    • Home
    • News
    • Business
    • Games
    • Gear
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Security
    • Trending
    • Press Release
    Technology Mag
    Home » The Rise of the Drone Boats
    Security

    The Rise of the Drone Boats

    News RoomBy News RoomFebruary 13, 20253 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp Email

    A Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System launches munitions from a MARTAC T-38 Devil Ray unmanned surface vehicle, attached to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s Task Force 59, during Exercise Digital Talon in the Arabian Gulf on October 23, 2023.Photograph: Chief Mass Communication Specialist Justin Stumberg/US NAVY

    The Navy’s armed USV efforts appear to have culminated in Project 33, a new initiative unveiled as part of Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti’s 2024 Navigation Plan in September 2024 that focuses on, among other targets, “scal[ing] robotic and autonomous systems to integrate more platforms at speed” in an ostensible complement to the Pentagon’s larger Replicator effort, designed to outfit American fleets with armed robot boats ahead of a potential future war with China.

    “This Navigation Plan drives toward two strategic ends: readiness for the possibility of war with the People’s Republic of China by 2027 and enhancing the Navy’s long-term advantage,” as Franchetti wrote at the time. “We will work towards these ends through two mutually reinforcing ways: implementing Project 33 and expanding the Navy’s contribution to the Joint warfighting ecosystem … By 2027, we will integrate proven robotic and autonomous systems for routine use by the commanders who will employ them.”

    The Defense Department seems confident that the Navy’s robotic push will help prepare the US military for the possibility of war with China, but some seasoned military and defense observers have their misgivings. Van Riper points to Marine Corps’ Force Design 2030, a reorganization of the service ahead of a notional island-hopping conflict against China in the Pacific, as evidence that the Pentagon still hasn’t learned the right lessons from Millennium Challenge 2002.

    The Marine Corps “was known for being an air-ground combined arms rapid-response deployed around the world,” Van Riper tells WIRED. “Now it has divested itself of every element of combined arms or reduced it, getting rid of its armor, breaching vehicles, mine clearing, and assault bridging capabilities, cutting its infantry and aviation, all to buy missiles and go on the defense in the Pacific. The Marine Corps got rid of existing capabilities in favor of unproven or undelivered capabilities.”

    Indeed, the US military’s propensity to fixate on next-generation technology like drone boats as a one-size-fits-all combat solution may obscure those tactical lessons in combined arms evident in the Ukrainian campaign in the Red Sea, Van Riper says.

    “You shouldn’t take the use of drones in isolation with what Ukraine is doing,” Van Riper says. “We presented the Navy fleet [in Millennium Challenge 2002] with multiple challenges, which is really what combined arms is. What you’re doing is presenting the enemy with a dilemma: If he tries to protect himself against threat A, he’s vulnerable to threat B, and with threats C, D, and E, he’s unable to handle it. In Ukraine, boats plus missiles and aircraft are more difficult for the Russians to respond to.”

    “I’m not sure the US military today is equipped to learn from those things,” he adds. “I’m depressed from the leadership on all levels, particularly the naval services.”

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleOpenAI is rethinking how AI models handle controversial topics
    Next Article Your Love Life on Ozempic

    Related Posts

    Identities of More Than 80 Americans Stolen for North Korean IT Worker Scams

    July 3, 2025

    A Group of Young Cybercriminals Poses the ‘Most Imminent Threat’ of Cyberattacks Right Now

    July 3, 2025

    How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance

    July 3, 2025

    US Supreme Court Upholds Texas Porn ID Law

    July 3, 2025

    ICE Rolls Facial Recognition Tools Out to Officers’ Phones

    July 3, 2025

    Minnesota Shooting Suspect Allegedly Used Data Broker Sites to Find Targets’ Addresses

    July 2, 2025
    Our Picks

    Laid-off workers should use AI to manage their emotions, says Xbox exec

    July 4, 2025

    Despite Protests, Elon Musk Secures Air Permit for xAI

    July 4, 2025

    This Is Why Tesla’s Robotaxi Launch Needed Human Babysitters

    July 4, 2025

    Fairphone 6 gets a 10/10 on repairability

    July 4, 2025
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Vimeo
    Don't Miss
    News

    New Galaxy Z Fold 7 leaks may give first real look at Samsung’s slimmer foldable

    By News RoomJuly 4, 2025

    Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7 has been given the thinner, sleeker glow-up we expected,…

    This is not a tattoo robot

    July 4, 2025

    What Could a Healthy AI Companion Look Like?

    July 4, 2025

    A Former Chocolatier Shares the 7 Kitchen Scales She Recommends

    July 4, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Advertise
    • Contact
    © 2025 Technology Mag. All Rights Reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.