NORFOLK, Va. - The Navy and Marine Corps are out with a framework for using unmanned systems in warfighting.
The 40-page document looks at systems that involve the physical removal or remote location of the human from the platform. It also covers the gamut of autonomy from remote operated all the way through near-independent autonomy.
Covered in the framework are four general portfolios: air, sea surface, undersea, and ground platforms. It also looks at the challenges of adding unmanned systems, including barriers to innovation and cost, as well as legal, policy, and ethical considerations.
Outside of the publicly released framework, the Navy and Marine Corps are also developing a separate a classified plan of action to detail technology maturation and acquisition milestones.
"The Navy and Marine Corps unmanned campaign plan serves as a roadmap for how we will realize a future where unmanned systems serve as an integral part of the Navy’s warfighting team in support of distributed maritime operations," said Vice Admiral Jim Kilby, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfighting Requirements and Capabilities, in a statement.
"The plan lays out how we will scale tested and proven systems as well as develop the core technologies required to successfully integrate unmanned systems into the fleet."
Kilby was one of three Navy and Marine Corps leaders to testify about the use of unmanned systems before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces just two days after the release of the framework document.
You can read the entire Unmanned Systems Campaign Framework document here.
