The U.S. Navy’s Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants held a three-day hybrid event to discuss with military and industry partners the service branch’s unmanned systems development priorities.
More than two dozen government organizations and 430 companies, including small businesses, participated in the three-day event to discuss opportunities and capability gaps in unmanned surface vessels, Naval Sea Systems Command said Tuesday.
“We’ve hosted a variety of industry days in the past, but nothing quite like this. Hundreds of companies are joining us in person and online with the chance to interact with representatives from a wide breadth of Navy unmanned topics,” said David Kelley, principal assistant program manager for acquisition for the Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office.
Rear Adm. Casey Moton, program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants, said there is a need to expand the unmanned industrial base to address demands for autonomous maritime systems that represent “an entirely new class of Navy weapons systems.”
The event took place from March 1 to 3 and saw participation from the Navy, Marine Corps and other industry partners,
