Ken Calvert, Republican Congressman of California, pointed out that the size of the US Navy has lagged behind that of the Chinese Navy, and in order to catch up, the US military plans to vigorously develop unmanned boat units. Compared with traditional ships, unmanned boats have the advantages of low cost and flexible deployment, which makes it one of the important ways for the US military to catch up with the Chinese Navy. However, the U.S. military faced multiple difficulties in realizing this plan.
The analysis of the US Naval Institute** pointed out that at a time when the US Navy is violently inciting the "China threat", its own strength and prospects are worrisome, and the development prospects of the unmanned boat force are also very slim. Although the U.S. military conducts experiments on unmanned ships through the "ghost fleet", due to various reasons, the research and development of large unmanned ships is slow, and it is impossible to cooperate with manned ships. Moreover, the US Navy has a limited budget and insufficient military-industrial capacity, which makes it impossible to fully develop and configure large unmanned ships.
In addition, the US Navy faces problems with funding and military-industrial capacity. With limited budgets and military production capacity, large unmanned ships need to compete with other projects for financial support, so they cannot be launched in time. Senior officers of the US Navy angrily pointed out that the current US defense industry is unable to meet the needs of various types of missiles and **, let alone provide assistance to "partners" such as Ukraine. As a result of this problem, the U.S. Navy, which is targeting at least 75 mission-capable ships, was unable to complete the order on time, and the related strategic deployment was affected.
In response to the rise of the Chinese Navy, the United States not only plans to develop more unmanned boats, but also tests a new landing ship. By redesigning the hull and adding various equipment and facilities, the landing ship has increased its speed and ability to land on the beach. However, the practical use of this new landing ship has been criticized by some soldiers, who feel that this kind of ship is too dependent on civilian merchant ship modification, which has a certain negative impact on the image of the US Navy.
The United States is trying in vain to catch up with and surpass the Chinese Navy through measures such as developing unmanned boats, but its actual situation is not optimistic. The development of unmanned vehicle units is constrained by multiple difficulties, including insufficient budget, insufficient military production capacity, and technical difficulties. The strength and prospects of the U.S. Navy are worrying, and it is unrealistic to expect a large unmanned fleet overnight.
Catching up with the Chinese Navy is not something that can be achieved by developing unmanned boat forces alone. Whether it is capital or military production capacity, the United States faces serious challenges. At the same time, the development of the Chinese Navy will not stand still in a short period of time, and the United States needs a more comprehensive and integrated strategic and capability development if it wants to achieve the collapse of the threat to China. In addition, the U.S. Navy also needs to deal with challenges in other areas, such as tensions in the Middle East, the military threat from Russia, etc.
In short, the U.S. Navy plans to develop an unmanned boat force to catch up with and surpass the Chinese Navy, but its actual situation faces multiple difficulties and challenges. The development of unmanned boat forces requires overcoming the problems of funding and military-industrial capacity, while at the same time solving challenges at the technical and strategic levels. For the collapse of the Chinese threat, the United States needs a more comprehensive and integrated strategy and capability development.