House Lawmakers Push for Faster Deployment of Navy Drone Boats to Enhance Fleet Readiness
The House Armed Services Committee has introduced a draft of the 2027 defense policy bill, which includes provisions for the U.S. Navy to expedite the deployment of unmanned surface vessels (USVs). The bill mandates the Navy to develop a comprehensive plan for acquiring, sustaining, and operating small USVs, which are less than 50 metric tons and no more than 50 feet long. This plan must detail the inventory of USVs, their mission types, integration with crewed vessels, and their role within existing command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance frameworks. The committee emphasizes the need for commercially available technologies to enhance fleet readiness and reduce costs. Additionally, the bill requires the Navy to ensure that these drone boats can operate autonomously in environments where communication and navigation capabilities are compromised. 
