The US Navy 2024 “Navigation Plan” was released on September 18, 2024, with an emphasis on the Navy’s ability to confront China by 2027 and the role of robotic and autonomous systems in achieving this objective.
Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations, said the plan is a blend of the 2022 plan’s objectives and urgency, as well as her own “North Star” initiative, “Project 33.” This initiative defines seven objectives that must be accomplished by 2027, one of which is the rapid integration of additional platforms by scaling robotic and autonomous systems.
Franchetti said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event on September 19, 2024, that the Navy is striving “to deal with a China that is building significant capabilities. … I am trying to highlight here everything that China has done and is doing.”
The focus on China and the use of unmanned aerial systems in Ukraine required one of her seven goals: “the ability to operate and integrate robotic and autonomous systems into the Navy.”
She said that while all seven goals “are equally important… one has the most potential and the most opportunity.” She said this objective is a continuation of current endeavors, including the Navy’s Task Force 59 in the Middle East, which concentrates on the operational deployment of unmanned systems in conjunction with manned operators.
The Navy’s Fourth Fleet in South America has unmanned surface vehicles that patrol, report, and monitor activity, she added. The Seventh Fleet in the Indo-Pacific region has been able to operate unmanned surface ships “from San Diego to Guam, Australia, and back. There’s a lot of training happening in this area.”
The goal now, she said, is to operationalize the lessons learned from experiments and exercises “into standard formations, incorporate them into our certification exercises, and train our people to work alongside unmanned or autonomous platforms.”
Integrating robotics and autonomous systems into the Navy is “where we can free up our sailors to do the things that truly need to be done by our sailors and civilians. If there are tasks that are dirty, dangerous, or dull, we can have autonomous or robotic systems handle those, and if we can form unmanned/manned teams with them, it will enhance our readiness to do the job we need to do,” she said.
This partially means providing the infrastructure, people, training, and support measures needed for these systems “so they don’t become orphans that no one owns. Proper ownership management is important,” she said. In the navigation plan, the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Combat Requirements and Capabilities is identified as the sole responsible officer for the plan’s goals related to robotic and autonomous systems, stating that “as the Navy works to build a truly hybrid fleet… near-term operational tasks require us to integrate proven robotic and autonomous capabilities as quickly as possible. We must do this with a focus on how we will use these systems in warfare.”
The plan promised to integrate “proven robotic and autonomous systems” by 2027 for everyday use by commanders. “We will integrate mature capabilities into all carrier and expeditionary strike group certifications to enhance our approach to command and control of manned and unmanned teams at sea.”
The plan indicated that in the next phase of the cycle, “priority will be given to key operational challenges in critical mission areas such as surveillance, fires, networking, logistics, and deception.”
Other naval operations goals include:
- Preparing forces by eliminating maintenance delays for ships, submarines, and aircraft;
- Creating the command centers needed by fleets to win in distributed battles;
- Recruiting and retaining forces necessary to bring more players to the battlefield;
- Providing quality of service commensurate with sailors’ sacrifices;
- Preparing for combat both in real-world and virtual scenarios;
- Restoring critical infrastructure that supports and projects combat from shore.
The goals are ambitious but realistic, she said.
Franchetti said that budget constraints are reflected in the plan, and she “will continue to advocate” for a larger fleet, but “I must focus on readiness, capabilities, and capacity, in that order, because that is where we can contribute the most in the shortest timeframe.”
With a continuing resolution looming, Franchetti said that they “really halt any momentum in what I’m trying to achieve in this NAVPLAN. So, it’s very detrimental to us.” However, the goals are still achievable, she said, because the Navy will “operate and work differently,” learning from the past and working with what they have.