The following is the summary of a Department of the Navy Strategic Roadmap for Unmanned Systems, which was signed in March and a summary version created and released in May.
From the Report:
Executive Summary
Unmanned and autonomous systems will create fundamental shifts in the way that the Department of Navy (DON) conducts naval operations. Integration of unmanned and autonomous capabilities offers many advantages such as reducing personnel and manpower, risk to personnel, and operating costs, as well as offering greater persistence and range, improved speed and accuracy of data processing, and supporting a faster decision cycle. Unmanned and autonomous technologies will become a powerful and ubiquitous force multiplier in an integrated human-machine team. The combination will provide capabilities that far exceed the effectiveness of platforms or humans alone. Employment of manned/unmanned teams and technologies will transform modem warfare, increasing asymmetric operations, leveraging the technologies to the DON’s advantage, and give the warfighter the edge to win the fight.
Roadmap Purpose
As part of the multi-tiered approach outlined in the 2015 DON Memorandum Treat Unmanned as Unmanned, a comprehensive Unmanned Systems (UxS) Roadmap was developed to characterize the Current state of UxS across the DON and to envision the future employment of UxS and the capabilities they will contribute. Furthermore, the Roadmap identifies the barriers to realizing that future and outlines the proposed actions to overcome those barriers. Ultimately. the roadmap seeks to inform the actions of stakeholders who possess resources to accelerate the integrated and efficient development and fielding of DON UxS.
