The Navy has been testing autonomous boats that are supposed to work on their own at sea. But during one trial off California, things went wrong. One drone stalled out unexpectedly. Another drone then slammed straight into it, jumped onto its deck, and fell back into the water.
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In a separate test weeks earlier, a support boat towing a drone capsized when the drone suddenly surged forward. The captain of the support vessel was thrown into the water but rescued safely. These accidents have raised alarms about whether the technology is ready for serious missions, according to Reuters.
Software Glitches and Human Mistakes Slow Progress
People familiar with the trials say the failures were caused by a mix of software glitches and human error. The communication systems that are supposed to connect the boats with their autonomy software did not work as planned. That breakdown meant the drones could not react the way they were supposed to.
These problems show that building fully independent naval drones is much harder than advertised. The Navy wants these vessels to operate in coordinated “swarms” without much human oversight. But right now, the technology is not proving reliable.
Pentagon Puts Autonomy Contract on Hold
The Pentagon has already pressed pause on a nearly $20 million contract with L3Harris (LHX), one of the companies that supplied the key autonomy software. Officials are reviewing the safety issues before moving forward.
That decision shows how much concern there is inside the Defense Department. The Navy has been racing to adopt this technology, but the pause suggests that the risks are too big to ignore.
Ambition Meets Harsh Reality
The Navy’s plan is ambitious. It wants to use advanced drones to compete with China’s growing naval power. These fleets are supposed to operate cheaply, quickly, and without risking human sailors. The idea takes inspiration from Ukraine’s success with low-cost sea drones in the Black Sea.
But instead of building simple systems, the U.S. is trying to create much more advanced autonomous fleets under its $1 billion Replicator program. The recent accidents, combined with leadership shakeups and internal doubts, show that the project may be moving faster than the Navy can realistically handle.
The thing is, these failures are more than just embarrassing test runs. They raise serious questions about whether the U.S. can deliver on its promise to modernize the Navy in time to counter China. Until the technology proves safe and dependable, the program risks wasting time and money while rivals push ahead.
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