The U.S. Navy sees vast potential for unmanned systems and the capabilities they will bring, according to the service's Strategic Roadmap for Unmanned Systems. Use of unmanned and autonomous systems will create nothing less than "fundamental shifts" in the way the Navy operates, says an unclassified summary of the roadmap released in May. Their integration, it says, will allow reductions in manpower and risk to personnel, lower operating costs, increased persistence, faster and more accurate data processing, and a faster decision cycle. The systems "will become a powerful and ubiquitous force multiplier in an integrated human-machine team," which "will provide capabilities that far exceed the effectiveness of platforms or humans alone," the roadmap says. These teams and technologies "will transform modern warfare, increasing asymmetric operations, leveraging the technologies to the [Navy's] advantage, and give the warfighter the edge to win the fight." The roadmap sees unmanned systems in the air, on the surface and under the sea, and on shore "as a rapidly adaptable and interconnected network" that will allow "access to areas denied to manned platforms," all while providing better situational awareness. It directs the Navy to evolve a concept of operations for unmanned systems "that is platform agnostic and [will work] in highly complex contested environments with minimal operator interaction."
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