Navy Admiral Discusses Integration of Autonomous Systems and Anti-Submarine Warfare Capabilities

Integration of Autonomous and Manned Systems

• 💡 The Navy is integrating autonomous systems and unmanned systems with manned systems to reduce risk to personnel, distribute operations, and expand maritime domain awareness.
• 🚀 Task forces in the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourth Fleets are actively involved in developing and experimenting with these technologies.
• 🎯 Necessity, driven by situations like being "ship poor," has led to investment in unmanned technologies, such as the Saildrone, for persistent maritime domain awareness.
• 🗺️ The geography of different fleets drives specific use cases, but the overarching goal is to achieve a hybrid fleet that supports submarines and enables manto-unmanned teaming.

Undersea Dominance and Anti-Submarine Warfare

• ⚠️ A concern is raised about a potential mismatch between the rising demand for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities and flat funding for key enablers like sonobuoys.
• 📈 Inventory levels for sonobuoys are reportedly below the global floor, impacting ASW readiness.
• 🛠️ Efforts are underway to improve sonobuoy manufacturing, with two companies, Sparta and Lockheed Martin, now producing them individually, aiming for a 7% annual increase in investment.

Defense Acquisitions Workforce

• ❓ Clarification is sought regarding the composition of the acquisitions workforce, with a specific question about the roles of engineers and sustainment personnel within the reported numbers.
• 📊 The Secretary provided a breakdown of the 55,833 personnel, including civilians, cost estimating, financial management, contracting, engineering and technical management, logistics, program management, and test and evaluation.
• ✅ A follow-up is requested to define these areas and how they align with appropriations requests.