One of the top Pentagon drone boats stalled during a U.S. Navy test last month off the California coast.

While officials were scrambling to fix a computer glitch, a drone vessel crashed into an idling boat on its starboard side. It then vaulted above the deck and crashed into the water. The incident was captured in video obtained by.

According to 12 people who are familiar with the program, the previously unreported incident, which involved two ships built by U.S. rivals in defense technology, Saronic and BlackSea Technologies is part of a recent series of setbacks for the Pentagon's efforts to build a fleet autonomous vessels. Four people with knowledge of the situation said that during a Navy test a few weeks earlier, the captain was thrown in the water when an autonomous BlackSea vessel towing the support boat suddenly accelerated. This caused the support boat to capsize. The captain was rescued, but declined medical treatment. Defense Scoop was the first to report this incident.

According to a source with direct knowledge, both incidents were caused by a combination between software failures and errors made by humans, such as a breakdown in communication between the onboard systems, and external autonomous software. The source requested anonymity so that they could share sensitive information.

The Navy, Saronic, and BlackSea have declined to comment.

Two sources verified the videos of the drone crash: the GARC-096 ID name and the structure of the boat matched the file images of Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Crafts (GARC). U.S. military officials, recognizing the massive impact maritime drones had in the Ukraine conflict, have said repeatedly that they require autonomous swarms both aerial and maritime drones, to thwart a possible advance by China through the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan has started to acquire its own maritime drones.

These drones, which look like speedboats but are equipped with explosives, weapons and surveillance equipment and can be remotely controlled, cost around $250,000 and are ideal for kamikaze attacks that have neutralized Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

The U.S. is working on a fleet of autonomous speedboats that will be able to move in swarms without any human control. This ambitious project could cost up to a million dollars each. Bryan Clark, an expert in autonomous warfare at the Hudson Institute, says that the Navy faces challenges when deploying these nascent technologies. It will have to adjust its "tactics" as it learns more about what the systems are capable of and what they cannot do.

The Navy's problems extend beyond the inability to get the boats working: the top admiral of the autonomous maritime drone unit was fired, and a senior Pentagon official expressed concerns about the program during a meeting last month with Navy brass.

According to two sources familiar with the situation, since the latest incident, the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, which acquired the technology for the test, has paused indefinitely the contract with L3Harris – one of the companies that provides autonomous software used to operate some of the vessels.

The Pentagon has not responded to any questions regarding the cause of these accidents or whether the L3Harris Contract was halted. This had not previously been reported.

Pentagon spokesperson stated that drone tests were conducted as part of "a competitive and iterative process between operators and the industry."

L3Harris declined commenting on the contract, and referred questions to DIU. The DIU refused to comment.

Toby Magsig who oversees L3Harris autonomous software products said, "L3Harris is committed to the safety, integrity, and capability of our product for autonomy command-and control."

The rise of sea drones To accelerate drone efforts, the Pentagon launched in 2023 the $1 billion Replicator Program, which would allow branches such as the U.S. Navy, and the DIU to purchase thousands of aerial and marine drones along with software to control them. This month, the first systems of this program will be announced.

According to records of procurement, the Navy has allocated at least $160 millions to BlackSea. The company produces dozens of Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Crafts a month.

Saronic recently received a $4 billion valuation in a funding round led by Andreessen-Horowitz and 8VC. The company makes the Corsair sea drone, but has yet to announce any major contracts. The company's federal procurement records indicate that it has received at least $20,000,000 from its prototype agreements.

"These systems will be critical in the future naval warfare, by improving situational awareness and increasing combat efficiency," said Jim Kilby, acting chief of Naval Operations, during a June visit to BlackSea.

NAVY TURMOIL

Donald Trump, since returning to the White House in 2017, has prioritized the deployment of drone swarms as a military priority. Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill", passed last month, included almost $5 billion in funding for maritime autonomous systems.

The new administration has been sceptical about the Navy's strategy.

In an April post on LinkedIn, the Navy's main drone boat procurement unit, known as Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants, hailed a successful demo of the software used by BlackSea to control its vessels, calling it "a major advance in #maritime autonomy." Colin Carroll, the then chief of staff for Deputy Secretary Steven Feinberg, responded by suggesting that the program duplicated other efforts within Pentagon. He replied, "I feel that this program will undergo some changes in the future." Carroll, who no longer works for the Pentagon, refused to comment on this further.

Four people with knowledge of the situation say that PEO USC has been placed under review due to several setbacks and may be restructured, or even shut down.

Two months ago, the Navy announced that it had dismissed the unit's commander, Rear Admiral Kevin Smith. This was due to a lack of confidence in Smith's leadership, after the Naval Inspector general substantiated an allegation against him. Smith was not able to be reached.

Three people who were briefed about the meeting say that Feinberg interrogated Navy officials during a meeting held last month. He asked them questions regarding the capabilities of autonomous vessels, including the ones being used by the PEO-USC. Feinberg was not impressed by some of Navy's capabilities and questioned their cost-effectiveness, according to the sources.

The Pentagon's spokesperson stated that "we won't comment on private meetings", and directed all questions regarding PEO USC towards the Navy.

The Navy refused to comment on either the meeting or unit under review. Timothy Hawkins, the PEO's spokesperson, said that the PEO-USC is committed to its mission and its role as the acquisition authority for maintenance and modernization unmanned maritime systems.

Shipbuilders and software companies are in a rush to secure larger autonomous maritime projects such as cargo-carrying vessels and unmanned submersibles.

The PEO USC began accepting proposals last week for the Modular Attack Surface Craft. This is a medium-sized vessel capable of carrying containers and surveillance equipment and conducting strikes.

T.X. Hammes, an expert in autonomous weapons and Atlantic Council Fellow, said that the Navy was in uncharted water, as it tried to change decades of tradition quickly.

He said, "You have a system used to making big decisions, which can take years, and suddenly, you are asking them to act fast." (Reporting and editing by Joe Brock; Michael Learmonth, Anna Driver, and David Jeans)

(source: Reuters)