Currently, the US Navy has 7 large and medium prototypes of the USV - a medium-sized unmanned surface ship, which have already demonstrated their capabilities quite well. However, small unmanned ships operating as part of Task Force 59 are already performing their tasks, and very successfully.
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday said earlier that Task Force 59's success with small unmanned ships had changed his mind about the potential for combat use of unmanned ships.
Several experiments took place in 2022, including during naval exercises in the Hawaiian Islands. Rear Admiral Fred Pyle, who was in charge of the surface part of the exercise, said he was impressed by the capabilities that unmanned ships have.
On January 11, 2023, speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Surface Naval Forces, he told the American edition of Defense News that unmanned ships are beneficial for use in such purposes as intelligence and surveillance and solving problems for the cybersecurity of the Navy.
Now the US Navy is going to start the LUSV program in fiscal year 2025, but it has not yet been publicly discussed. The command has not decided whether to stop him on medium or small unmanned surface ships. Rear Admiral Pyle noted that there is already investment in medium unmanned surface ships. Now the Navy experts are studying the prospects for interaction to solve combat missions of unmanned ships with aircraft carrier strike groups and units of the Marine Corps.
Recall that unmanned surface ships of medium size have been participating in the experiments of the Navy since 2021. As Admiral Gilday noted at the conference, he expects the first such ship to be deployed with the US Navy aircraft carrier strike group in 2027.