Foreword: Rep. Ken Calvert, Republican of California, said that the U.S. Navy has lagged behind the Chinese Navy in size. In order to close this gap, the US Pentagon is trying to catch up with China by developing unmanned boats. However, the current strength of the U.S. military may not be able to achieve this ambitious goal. Next, let's take a look at what kind of unmanned boat force the U.S. military plans to build to catch up with the Chinese Navy, and examine the U.S. military's efforts in this regard.
US Republican Congressman Ken Calvert pointed out that at present, the Chinese Navy has nearly 400 ships, while the US military has only 290, which is an important reason for the US military to develop unmanned boats. Compared with traditional ships, unmanned boats are not only lower in cost, but also more flexible in terms of deployment. At present, the weakening of the U.S. military and the rapid rise of the Chinese Navy weigh heavily on us. However, the United States faces a number of problems, such as production bases, ** chains, and labor, which prevent the US military from quickly regaining its dominance in the global maritime forces, especially in the field of submarines. In this regard, the US military chief of operations Michael Gilday agreed with Calvert's view and announced the grand plan for the future of the US military. According to Gilday, in the next 10 years, unmanned ships in the U.S. Navy will account for nearly 40% of the hull ratio, and by 2045, the U.S. Navy is expected to have hundreds of unmanned ships in service. However, in reality, this plan is destined to be a dead letter.
Against the backdrop of the United States' constant advocacy of the "China threat," the strength and prospects of the U.S. Navy are worrisome, and the prospects for unmanned ship forces are even more bleak. According to reports, the unmanned ship unit of the US Navy has attracted much attention from the outside world, especially in recent years, the "Mariner", "Ranger", "Sea Hawk" and "Sea Hunter" and other unmanned ships have been tested in the western Pacific. On the surface, this unmanned ship force plays an important role in the U.S. military's Indo-Pacific strategy and will play an important role in the future. However, ** noted that the Sea Hunter and the Sea Hawk were originally part of the US defense pre-research project, and only 2 have been built so far, and their seaworthiness is very limited. Due to the aging of the hull, one of the medium-sized unmanned ships in the "ghost fleet" even intends to be decommissioned next year. The US military originally planned to successively put into service large and medium-sized unmanned ships in the 30s of this century to serve as maritime strike platforms and coordinate operations with manned ships. However, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations Chris Miller, who oversees operational needs and capabilities, said that imagination is wonderful, but we can't have an unmanned fleet overnight. Miller implied that this would take a long time and would require a significant investment of time, money, and technology to make it happen.
However, there is still an unresolved problem with the plan for the coordinated operation of unmanned and manned ships. It is understood that in addition to the "ghost fleet", the US Navy has not procured more unmanned ships for testing or planning. With a limited budget, the progress of the development of large unmanned ships is unclear. In addition, large unmanned ships, including new guided missile destroyers, manned warplanes and attack nuclear submarines, will need to compete for research and development funding. Despite the guaranteed funding, the production capacity of the military industry is also a headache. At the beginning of this year, senior US Navy officers said at an annual meeting that the US defense industry is unable to meet the needs of the US military for various types of missiles and **, while also considering providing assistance to Ukraine and other partners. Due to the lack of military production capacity, only 6 fast attack submarines have been delivered in the past 5 years, which is far lower than the plan to purchase 2 per year. As a result, the relevant strategic deployment could not be carried out smoothly. Despite the U.S. military's anxiety about its own production capacity, it is increasingly caught in the fear of dealing with the Chinese threat and is looking for a solution.
In response to the increasingly powerful Chinese Navy, the US Navy has not only intensified its efforts to develop unmanned boats, but also tested a new landing ship. According to the U.S. Marine Corps, the new landing ship will be an important part of future island-hopping tactics in the Western Pacific Theater. It is reported that the US Navy has redesigned the hull on the basis of conventional landing ships and adopted a variety of new technologies to make it more maneuverable and highly mobile. In addition, the United States is actively working with its allies to expand joint maritime exercises and Xi cruises. For example, the United States has conducted several joint Xi exercises with allies such as Japan and Australia and plans to continue to strengthen cooperation in the future. In addition, the United States also plans to increase military support for Taiwan, including **more** equipment and increased military assistance.
To sum up, the US military does recognize that its own development lags behind China, and plans to catch up with the Chinese Navy by developing unmanned boats. However, the U.S. military is currently facing a variety of problems, including limitations in terms of funding, military production capacity, and technology. The future of the unmanned boat program is worrying, and it may be difficult to achieve the desired goals in the short term. To compensate for its own shortcomings, the U.S. military has also taken a variety of measures, including testing new landing ships and strengthening cooperation with allies. However, it remains to be seen whether these measures can really catch up with the Chinese navy.