US Navy deploys carrier strike group with uncrewed vessel for 1st time: Acting secretary

The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group deployed with an uncrewed surface vessel for the first time, marking a step in the US Navy’s effort to integrate autonomous systems into its fleet, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said.

“Right now, the Teddy Roosevelt carrier strike group just deployed on Oct. 8 with a medium-sized unmanned surface vessel,” Cao said at an Army conference in Washington, DC on Wednesday.

“This is a first carrier strike group to ever deploy with a large-size unmanned surface vessel, and this is a force multiplier. Imagine having more guns out there.”

The uncrewed vessel is a Seahawk built by Leidos Inc., a 145-ton, 137-foot-long surface craft designed to operate over extended distances for months, local media reported, citing a person familiar with the ship.

The Seahawk is sailing from the US West Coast with the carrier and its escort vessels, the person said.

Cao also pointed to the use of uncrewed systems in the Middle East, saying US forces had deployed a Corsair II autonomous surface vessel built by Saronic Technologies Inc. to help recover two Apache helicopter pilots.

"In the Straits of Hormuz, we used the Corsair II to recover two Apache helicopter pilots. Then we also use the unmanned underwater vehicles to demine that area. It can't be done in a contested area unless ... using unmanned underwater vehicles."