During a US naval test off the coast of California last month, which was intended to showcase the Pentagon’s most advanced autonomous drone boats, one vessel unexpectedly stalled. As officials tried to fix a software glitch, another drone boat collided with the idling vessel’s starboard side, vaulted over its deck, and crashed back into the water. This incident was captured in videos obtained by Reuters.
This previously unreported episode, which involved two vessels built by rival defense tech companies Saronic and BlackSea Technologies, is one of a series of recent setbacks in the Pentagon’s push to build a fleet of autonomous vessels, according to a dozen sources familiar with the program. Weeks earlier, during a separate Navy test, the captain of a support boat was thrown into the water after another autonomous BlackSea vessel it was towing suddenly accelerated, causing the support boat to capsize, according to four people familiar with the matter. The captain was rescued and refused medical attention. This incident was first reported by Defence Scoop.
Both incidents resulted from a combination of software failures and human error, including communication breakdowns between onboard systems and external autonomous software, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who requested anonymity to share sensitive information. The Navy, Saronic, and BlackSea all declined to comment on the incidents. The videos of the drone crash were verified by two Reuters sources, with the landscape, the GARC-096 name ID, and the boat’s structure matching file imagery of the Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC).
The Rising Use of Drones in Warfare
Seeing the significant impact of maritime drones in the war in Ukraine, US military leaders have repeatedly stated the need for autonomous swarms of aerial and maritime drones to counter a potential Chinese advance across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan has also begun acquiring its own maritime drones. The drones being developed in Ukraine, which often resemble speedboats without seats and can carry weapons, explosives, and surveillance equipment, are primarily remote-controlled and cost around $250,000, making them ideal for kamikaze missions that have effectively neutralized Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
In contrast, the US aims to build an autonomous naval fleet that can operate in swarms without human command—a more ambitious and expensive task, with each speedboat potentially costing a few million dollars. Bryan Clark, an autonomous warfare expert at the Hudson Institute, said the recent test failures highlight the challenges the Navy faces in deploying these new technologies. He added that the Navy will need to adapt its “tactics as it better understands what the systems can do and what they can’t do.” However, the Navy’s problems extend beyond technical issues: its autonomous maritime drone acquisition unit has also been affected by the firing of its top admiral, and a senior Pentagon official voiced concerns about the program in a frank meeting with Navy leaders last month, as discovered by Reuters.
Internal Turmoil at the Pentagon
Following the most recent incident, the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), which had acquired technology for the tests, has indefinitely paused a contract worth close to $20 million with L3Harris, one of the companies providing the autonomous software used to control some of the vessels, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The Pentagon did not answer questions about the cause of the accidents or the pausing of the L3Harris contract, which had not been previously reported.
A Pentagon spokesperson said it conducts drone tests as part of a “competitive and iterative approach, between operators and industry.” L3Harris declined to comment on the contract and referred questions to the DIU, which also declined to comment. Toby Magsig, who oversees L3Harris’ autonomous software products, stated, “L3Harris stands behind the safety, integrity, and capability of our autonomy command-and-control product.”
The Rise of Sea Drones
To accelerate its drone efforts, the Pentagon launched the $1 billion Replicator program in 2023, through which branches like the US Navy and the DIU planned to acquire thousands of aerial and maritime drones, along with the software to control them. The first systems from this program are expected to be announced this month. According to procurement records, the Navy has committed at least $160 million to BlackSea, which is producing dozens of its Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft boats each month. Saronic, recently valued at $4 billion in a funding round, builds the competitive sea drone Corsair but has yet to announce a major contract. Federal procurement records show the company has generated at least $20 million from prototype agreements.
During a visit to BlackSea’s facility in June, acting chief of naval operations Jim Kilby said, “These systems will play a critical role in the future of naval warfare by extending fleet reach, improving situational awareness, and increasing combat effectiveness.”
Navy Leadership in Flux
Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has made fielding swarms of drones a top military priority. Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” passed last month, included nearly $5 billion for maritime autonomous systems. However, the Navy’s approach has faced skepticism from the new administration. In April, the Navy’s key drone boat procurement unit—the Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC)—hailed a successful demonstration of the software used to control BlackSea’s vessels on LinkedIn, calling it “a major step forward in advancing #maritime autonomy.”
In response, Colin Carroll, then-chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of Defense Steven Feinberg, suggested the program was duplicating other efforts within the Pentagon. “I have a feeling that there are changes in this program’s future,” he replied to the LinkedIn post. Carroll, who is no longer with the Pentagon, declined to comment further. According to four people familiar with the matter, the PEO USC was recently placed under review due to a series of setbacks and could be restructured or shut down. This comes two months after the Navy fired the unit’s leader, Rear Admiral Kevin Smith, due to a loss of confidence in his leadership after a complaint against him was substantiated by the Naval Inspector General. Reuters was unable to contact Smith.
During a meeting last month, Feinberg questioned Navy officials about their autonomous vessel capabilities, including those from the PEO USC, according to three people briefed on the meeting. They said Feinberg was unimpressed by some of the capabilities the Navy was acquiring and questioned their cost-effectiveness. A Pentagon spokesperson said, “We’re not going to comment on private internal meetings” and directed questions about PEO USC to the Navy. The Navy declined to comment on the meeting or the acquisition unit’s review. Spokesperson Timothy Hawkins said the PEO USC stands by its mission, including its role as the acquisition authority for the maintenance and modernization of unmanned maritime systems.
This turmoil is happening as shipbuilders and software providers are vying for even larger autonomous maritime projects, such as unmanned submarines and cargo ships. Last week, the PEO USC began accepting proposals for the Modular Attack Surface Craft to acquire medium and large vessels capable of carrying containers, surveillance equipment, and conducting strikes. TX Hammes, an autonomous weapons expert and Atlantic Council fellow, said the Navy is in uncharted waters, trying to rapidly overhaul decades of tradition. “You’ve got a system that’s used to building big things, taking years to make a decision, and now suddenly you’re asking them to move fast,” he said.
