U.S. Navy boosts aspiration for large unmanned fleet

Reuters

Published Jul 26, 2022 12:41PM ET

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy sees its future fleet comprised of more than 350 manned ships and about 150 unmanned ships hoping technology means lower operating costs as it prepares to counter a growing Chinese fleet, according to a Navy report released Tuesday.

The plan for the 2040s and beyond underscored "the need to address long-term competition with China and sustain military advantage against Russia". It forecasts fleet numbers up slightly from a 2021 Navy long-range shipbuilding plan which had a range of 321 to 372 manned ships and 77 to 140 large unmanned vessels.

Huntington Ingalls (NYSE:HII) Industries Inc and General Dynamics Corp (NYSE:GD) are the largest ship builders in the United States with other weapons makers like Boeing (NYSE:BA) Co working on unmanned ships programs.

Today the Navy has 298 ships in its "battle force" which ignores scores of resupply and logistics ships.