Navy Moving Away from ‘Optionally Manned’ Vessels as Service Mulls Unmanned Future
Sam LaGrone
August 15, 2025 6:00 PM
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Navy is placing less weight on optionally manned surface vehicles as it refines requirements for a new type of vessel that will support the surface fleet, officials said this week.
Speaking at an event at the U.S. Naval Institute on Thursday, three service officials responsible for crafting requirements for unmanned vehicles, developing new vessels and operating the current fleet of experimental craft said their preference was to keep sailors off the next generation of unmanned vessels.
“When you introduce that capability to operate with people on board, it creates a lot of other requirements and cost and complications,” Capt. Matt Lewis, program manager for unmanned maritime systems told USNI News on Thursday. “The solicitation that went out for industry… it was open, and we are eager to get proposals as we review them, to look at the proposals that don’t have people on board.”
https://news.usni.org/2025/08/15/navy-moving-away-from-optionally-manned-vessels-as-service-mulls-unmanned-future
