US Navy autonomous drone vessels fail during testing in California
During US Navy testing of autonomous drone vessels off California in July 2025, one Saronic vessel stalled due to software problems and was struck by a BlackSea vessel; weeks earlier, a BlackSea vessel unexpectedly accelerated while being towed, capsizing a support boat. Both incidents involved software failures and communication breakdowns, injuring a support boat captain who was rescued.
What happened
During a US Navy test off the California coast in July 2025, one autonomous vessel built by Saronic stalled due to a software glitch. Before operators could respond, another autonomous vessel built by BlackSea Technologies smashed into the stalled boat, vaulted over its deck, and crashed back into the water.
Weeks earlier, another BlackSea autonomous vessel unexpectedly accelerated while being towed by a support boat, capsizing the support boat and throwing its captain into the water. The captain was rescued and declined medical attention.
Both incidents resulted from a combination of software failures and human error, including breakdowns in communication between onboard systems and external autonomous software.
Reported impact
The incidents highlight challenges in deploying autonomous maritime drone technology and raise concerns about the Pentagon's push for a fully autonomous naval fleet.
The failures occurred during tests of vessels intended to form swarms to counter China's naval power in the Pacific and deter a potential Chinese advance across the Taiwan Strait.
Index analysis
The incidents involved autonomous control failures resulting in collisions and unintended acceleration, suggesting gaps in the reliability and safety of the autonomous systems being developed and tested.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.