The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard are turning to drones to boost maritime power when manufacturing and acquiring new ships. Both services over the past year have sought to integrate a wide variety of autonomous systems into standard use, including Unmanned Aircraft Systems. These systems are expanding the reach and capabilities of vessels at sea at lightning speed, upending existing definitions of aircraft carriers and making the ocean a vital testing ground for new technology.
Although airpower deployed from vessels at sea is not new, the advent of unmanned aerial vehicles is reframing the maritime domain. Unmanned aircraft systems of various sizes and designs are proving resilient at performing reconnaissance over large expanses of ocean, with range and endurance exceeding human limitations. Lack of human presence on board these systems allow for smaller designs, making drones and unmanned aircraft conducive to being stowed and launched from the decks of diverse classes of ships.
As drone technology continues to rapidly develop, the Navy is seeking to use unmanned aircraft to augment its fleets. The drive to incorporate autonomous systems comes amid long-term delays in shipbuilding and operational strain on existing naval carrier aircraft. Last September, the Navy awarded contracts to major defense contractors—including General Atomics, Anduril, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman—to develop collaborative combat aircraft to be launched from the flight decks of U.S. aircraft carriers. The push for carrier-launched drones will reduce the demand for human pilots.
However the role of naval aviators—renowned for their flying skills—has not been eliminated, and unmanned technology is seeing pilots able to wield swarms of drones under their command in flight. The Navy’s Joint Simulation Environment in Maryland, integrated into its TOPGUN program, is overseeing cross-training across the military services, including for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marines, while teaching human operators to use drones as tools. This month saw Navy pilots train at the facility to wield multiple unmanned aircraft in combat exercises using a touchscreen in the cockpit of F-35 Lightning II fighter planes.
How The Coast Guard And Navy Take Unique Approaches To Drone Experiments
Like the Navy, the Coast Guard aims to fill existing gaps with unmanned solutions. The service is currently seeing its acquisition and use of technology overhauled as part of an initiative called Force Design 2028, which constitutes a sweeping reorganization and modernization effort. This new initiative has seen the creation of a Rapid Response Prototype team called RAPTOR to ensure that new technology is deployed at speed.
As the Coast Guard constitutes a critical line of maritime defense for the United States, Force Design 2028 aims to increase its ability to react to threats amid ongoing struggles to obtain and maintain security cutters, particularly in the Arctic region.
Vertical take-off and landing, or VTOL, drones are demonstrating increasing promise as seaborne observation tools. Often featuring a design that incorporates fixed wings with a tilt-rotor mechanism, VTOL drones lift off vertically and then maneuver horizontally after becoming airborne, and return to standing upright when landing. This makes them easy to store, maneuver and launch from across crowded decks. Aided by artificial intelligence and advanced targeting, they can function as independent long-range maritime patrols as they relay images to human operators and scan stretches of ocean for extended periods.
The Coast Guard is turning to VTOL drones to enhance its surveillance capabilities. Last November, the service launched a VTOL drone produced by ShieldAI called the MQ-35 V-BAT from a cutter to intercept illicit narcotics at sea, with three interdictions made in one night. To increase its reconnaissance ability further still, the service is also expanding its use of FPV drones, spending $4.3 million to acquire 125 SkyDio X10D drones in fiscal year 2025 as part of initial investments of a $350 million total allocated to the service by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Drones are also presenting new possibilities at sea for use as ammunition. With both Navy and Coast Guard vessels able to store and launch various types and sizes of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, there are no limits on new operational possibilities in terms of unleashing explosive payloads at sea. In December, the Navy passed a historic milestone by launching a one-way attack drone, or suicide drone, from the flight deck of the USS Santa Barbara as it sailed in the Arabian Gulf. The launch marks the beginning of what is likely to become a new phase in the use of drones as maritime weapons.
Although aircraft carriers have been a mainstay of warfare for decades, previous definitions of aircraft are changing – as well as definitions of carriers. Drones are offering new possibilities in being used as surveillance tools and striking weapons from vessels previously limited from deploying significant airpower. Despite challenges facing the U.S. shipbuilding industry, Unmanned Aircraft Systems are proving a viable solution to U.S. defense and force projection at sea.