Overview

• Video from a July California demonstration shows a stalled autonomous vessel being struck by another that vaulted over its deck, involving craft from Saronic and BlackSea Technologies.
• Weeks earlier, a BlackSea boat under tow suddenly accelerated, capsizing a support vessel and throwing its captain into the water; he was rescued and declined medical treatment.
• People familiar with the trials attribute the accidents to software failures and human‑system communication breakdowns, while the Navy and involved companies declined to comment.
• The Defense Innovation Unit has indefinitely paused a roughly $20 million L3Harris autonomy software contract, and the Navy’s PEO Unmanned and Small Combatants is under review after its leader was removed in May following an inspector general complaint.
• Despite setbacks, funding and procurement continue, with the $1 billion Replicator program, nearly $5 billion in new appropriations for maritime autonomy, at least $160 million committed to BlackSea, and initial Replicator systems expected to be announced this month.