Software glitches hobble US navy’s drone-fleet tests

During a US naval test off the California coast last month, which was designed to showcase the Pentagon's top autonomous drone boats, one vessel stalled unexpectedly.

- Reuters

As officials scrambled to fix a software glitch, another drone vessel smashed into the idling boat’s starboard side, vaulted over the deck, and crashed back into the water —an incident captured in videos obtained by Reuters. The previously unreported episode, which involved two vessels built by US defense tech rivals Saronic and BlackSea Technologies, is one of a series of recent setbacks in the Pentagon's push to build a fleet of autonomous vessels, according to people familiar with the program.

Weeks earlier, during a separate Navy test, the captain of a support boat was thrown into the water after another autonomous BlackSea vessel it was towing suddenly accelerated, capsizing the support boat, according to four people familiar with the matter. The captain was rescued and declined medical attention. The incident was first reported by Defense Scoop.