But how does anyone think that large unmanned ships are ever going to work? Equipment requires constant preventive maintenance and still breaks down all the time. Who is going to do that work?
The Ukraine war showed satellite-guided USV ships could work against a Russian navy ship (Sergey Kotov, damaged 9/2023 and then sunk 3/2024), admittedly only because it doesn't have countermeasures and defense systems. And 12/2024 one shot down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter, first ever by ASV. I think all this says more about the Russian military lack of capabilities. But there's a niche.
> how does anyone think that large unmanned ships are ever going to work?
"large" simply means >24ft. Think of a small barge. Depends on the mission. Presumably launching or refueling/recharging a swarm of smaller drones, surveillance, minesweeping. I don't know, it's not my area. But clearly there is a lot of investment in this so the sector is real.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/12/31/one-of-ukra...
I think autonomous marine assets are as effective as their engine reliability.