VOA科学技术2024--Report: US Military Falling Behind in Sea Drone Development

U.S. efforts to expand the use of sea drones to defend against possible military threats are reportedly falling behind because of other American defense¹ goals.

Reporters from Reuters said they spoke² with several people who have "direct knowledge of the U.S. sea drone plans." The news agency spoke with officials in the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense. They also spoke with executives with sea drone companies.

Defense Department spokesman Eric Pahon told Reuters that U.S. military officials recognize the importance of using drones in operations at sea.

Pahon noted³ that military leaders had seen the ways Ukrainian forces had successfully used sea drones against Russian ships in the Ukraine war. In recent months, Yemeni-backed Houthi rebels have also used sea drones to attack private ships passing through the Red Sea.

Pahon said those examples had caught the attention of top military leaders. He said U.S. military officials would like to try using sea drones to answer moves by China in recent years to build up naval⁴ power in the Pacific.

Last August, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced a new agency program called Replicator. It aims to deploy⁵ hundreds of small, relatively⁶ low-cost air and sea drones over a period of 18 to 24 months in hopes of limiting Chinese threats.

Bryan Clark is an adviser⁷ to the Navy on drones. He is also a researcher at the Hudson Institute, a Washington D.C. international policy group. He estimates the U.S. Navy has around 100 small drones for use on the ocean surface and another 100 underwater drones. Experts say China has a similar-sized sea drone force.

Reuters reports that U.S. military officials told the news agency the Replicator announcement came after years of repeated warnings, even from people inside the Department of Defense. The warnings centered on a lack of progress in expanding its sea drone program, while efforts by other nations moved forward.

Two Navy sources and three officials with sea drone manufacturers described to Reuters one of the biggest barriers to progress. They described a budget process that centers too much on developing big ships and submarines built by established defense contractors⁸.

"At some point, you hit the D.C. problem," said Philipp Stratmann. He is the chief of Ocean Power Technologies, a New Jersey⁹ company that supplies the Navy with one of its drones.

"You hit the fact that there is a military industrial complex that has the best lobbyists and knows exactly how the money flows and contracting works in the (Department of Defense)," Stratmann said.

A Navy spokesperson told Reuters it "acquires capabilities¹⁰ based on fleet demand signals." This means listening to officers operating at sea about the immediate¹¹ needs they have.

A Navy spokesperson told the news agency it has a budget of $172 million this year for small and medium-sized underwater sea drones. This amount would fall to $101.8 million in 2025. That is a very small part of the $63 billion Navy budget that President Joe Biden's administration proposed for 2025.

Two Navy sources told Reuters that when sea drones were deployed¹² at sea in recent years, there was not effective expertise¹³ to use them. They said the Navy does not have enough trained sailors to pilot the drones or to examine the large amount of data the drones collect. The sources asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject.

A Navy spokesperson said the Navy is currently in the process of improving its data collection and examination methods. Defense Department spokesperson Pahon said military efforts had been "laser-focused" on developing new "innovation" over the last three years. That includes the use of sea drones.

Speaking about the department's budget challenges, Pahon said officials were trying to use creative ways to cross "the valley of death." This term is used to describe the complex approval process that new innovations must go through before they can be widely produced and deployed.

Words in This Story

drone - n. an unpiloted aircraft

lobbyist - n. someone who tries to persuade a politician or official group to do something or provide money to an effort

acquire - v. to get something

fleet - n. a group of ships that make up a nation's navy

laser-focused - adj. intensely focused on centered on something

innovation - n. the introduction of changes or new ideas, especially when developing new products

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

5 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

8 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

13 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。