Navy officials revealed earlier this year that the sea service would be expanding operational tests and other deployments of small unmanned vessels around Naval Base Ventura County and the Ventura and Channel Islands harbors between April and August.

“An incident occurred at approximately 3:28 p.m. [local time] on June 23 within the Channel Islands Harbor Marina involving the overturning of a support boat by an unmanned vehicle that was being towed out of the harbor,” a spokesperson from Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) said. 

The area is considered somewhat of a hotspot for Navy-supporting autonomous technology development and demonstrations. It includes controlled and cornered off locations designed for the secure demonstration and refinement of uncrewed vessels of different types and sizes. 

Granted anonymity to speak freely, a source familiar with the June 23 incident raised concerns that the captain of the support boat appeared to be in danger after the towboat was overturned by the maritime drone.  

The NAVWAR spokesperson told DefenseScoop that the operator involved declined medical attention after they were recovered by the emergency responders.

“A preliminary investigation indicated that the unmanned vehicle received an inadvertent command that turned the engine on, causing the towed vehicle to accelerate past and capsize the support boat. As a result, the training activity immediately held a safety stand-down with all members of the activity and is implementing additional safety procedures,” the spokesperson said.

They did not respond to follow-up questions regarding whether the “inadvertent command” that resulted in the flip came from a human or technical malfunction.

NAVWAR spokespersons also declined to confirm if the drone involved was a Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft, or GARC, which sources initially suggested. The Navy recently unveiled plans to boost production of the 16-foot GARC — an unmanned surface vessel built by BlackSea Technologies, formerly known as Maritime Applied Physics Corp.

A spokesperson from BlackSea acknowledged DefenseScoop’s inquiry last week, but did not respond to questions regarding whether it was a GARC that flipped the tugboat.

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The 16-foot GARC, an unmanned surface vessel, is built by Maritime Applied Physics Corp. The Defense Department has already obligated more than $160 million for the system, according to government contracting data.

Rear Adm. Kevin Smith, the Navy’s program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants, told DefenseScoop this week on the sidelines of the Surface Navy Association’s annual symposium that he expects to hit the production target of 32 GARCs per month later this year.

“We’re not there yet [but] they’re ramping up” Smith said. “That’s where we’re looking at as far as gearing up.”

The GARC effort previously received funding via the Pentagon’s Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) initiative.

“The program started and … it just blossomed. It took off,” Smith said during a panel at the SNA symposium. “All of our APFIT boats have been built, 24 of them, and they’re all over the country. And we’re looking at maybe sending some overseas.”

Last year, the service stood up a new squadron, USVRON Three, at Naval Base San Diego to oversee a fleet of GARCs and help the sea service integrate, scale, experiment and employ these types of platforms. Eight of those systems have been delivered to the new unit, according to Smith.

During a panel at the SNA conference this week, Vice Adm. Jimmy Pitts, deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting requirements and capabilities, N9, suggested he’s keen on the autonomous vessels.

“We’re going to use that in a nontraditional sea-denial mission role directly for [U.S. Pacific] Fleet here in the near term,” he said.

A few months ago, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti unveiled her Project 33 initiative that has a goal of scaling robotic and autonomous systems across the force by 2027 so that the sea service will be ready for a potential war against China in the Taiwan Strait or other locations.

“The Chairman of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has told his forces to be ready for war by 2027 — we will be more ready,” Franchetti wrote in her CNO Navigation Plan. “Project 33 is how we will get more ready players on the field by 2027. Project 33 sets my targets for pushing hard to make strategically meaningful gains in the fastest possible time with the resources we influence.”

Last year, Franchetti also spearheaded the establishment of a new robotics warfare specialist rating to help facilitate robotic and autonomous system operations and maintenance at the tactical edge. Those personnel will include subject matter experts for computer vision, mission autonomy, navigation autonomy, data systems, AI and machine learning.

The Pentagon is also looking to scale the fielding of small USVs and other types of unmanned platforms via its Replicator initiative, which is the brainchild of Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.

At the SNA symposium, Smith didn’t explicitly mention Replicator or say whether the GARC is one of the platforms selected for scaled-up manufacturing under that initiative, but he noted that the Navy is ramping up production “to try to do what the DepSecDef has been pushing for.”

Smith declined to disclose the total number of GARCs expected to be delivered under the current procurement deal.

Meanwhile, USVRON Three is doing experiments and working to flesh out concepts of operation for the robotic platforms under its purview.

Smith suggested that future decisions about fielding the systems will be made by fleet commanders.

“It’s not a program of record,” he told DefenseScoop. “It’s more learning opportunity for small USVs and getting it into the hands of the sailor to see how we’re going to move forward.”

“The CNO has talked about having, you know, innovative ideas as far as small unmanned surface vessels that you could then use, obviously, in the field. So that’s kind of the thought is that, you know, what do we have available now and what have we learned for rapid fielding,” he said. “But it’s really for the decision of the fleet commander as far as having those assets … available. So it’s just another tool, I guess, in the tool bag as far as capability.”

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