The US Navy has formally established a Robotics and Autonomous Systems Warfighting Development Center, a new command tasked with turning a growing pile of unmanned prototypes into standard fleet capability. Announced on September 24, 2026, the RASWDC stands up at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach and reports through the service's warfighting-development ecosystem.
Who Runs It And What It Does
Rear Admiral Melvin Smith takes command of the center, which is chartered to develop the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that govern how the Navy operates its expanding inventory of robotic and autonomous systems across surface, subsurface, and air domains. "The goal is not to replace the hard-earned expertise already resident across our Navy. It is to connect it," Smith said in the Navy's announcement, framing the RASWDC as a doctrine and integration hub rather than a new procurement shop.
How It Slots Into The Wider Push
The center pairs with the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems (DRPM RAS) that the Navy stood up in August, a two-track structure meant to accelerate testing, training, and fielding of unmanned systems across the Navy and Marine Corps. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle said the service "must rapidly integrate robotic and autonomous systems into how we operate, train, and deploy" to hold its maritime edge.
Signals For Industry
The stand-up follows a summer of high-tempo Navy autonomy work: SOCOM's SM300-SP autonomy-kit selection with Sea Machines, the MUSV marketplace demos with Saronic, Leidos and HII, and the Naval Academy's YP NEXT drone launches. Adding a dedicated warfighting development center gives Navy contracting officers a doctrinal partner that program executive officers on the industrial side have publicly said they need before large USV and UUV buys can scale.
Reporting based on coverage from Breaking Defense and US Navy statements.