Navy stands up new center to guide unmanned systems tactics and operations
The Navy has established a new Robotics and Autonomous Systems Warfighting Development Center to develop tactics, techniques, and procedures for unmanned systems. Based in Virginia, the center will work on command structure, mission relationships, resource needs, and operational employment of robotic and autonomous capabilities. Its launch follows the creation of a direct reporting portfolio manager for such systems and aims to better connect efforts across the fleet.
The Navy announced a new Robotics and Autonomous Systems Warfighting Development Center, led by Rear Adm. Melvin Smith, at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia. It will craft tactics, techniques and procedures for unmanned systems and oversee their operational use. A phased plan will address command structure, mission relationships and resource needs.
The center is meant to work closely with the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems, created in August to improve acquisition and fielding across the Navy and Marine Corps. Testing and training data from the center will inform fielding. Officials also want to connect separate fleet efforts and shift unmanned capabilities from individual units toward composite mission sets.
The center’s work could affect sailors and operators who train and deploy with robotic systems, as well as defense firms developing them. By standardizing tactics and connecting fleet efforts, it may influence how quickly unmanned capabilities reach service and how human oversight is structured. Those changes could shape future naval operations and public discussions about autonomy in warfare, though near-term effects remain uncertain.