澳大利亚政府宣布调整无人水面舰艇的开发战略，表示采取"快速跟随"而非领先全球的做法更符合国家利益。[1] 国防工业部长帕特·康罗伊指出，"这是我们成为快速跟随者而不是领导者更符合利益的领域"。[1]
澳大利亚原计划与美国海军正式合作开发六艘可选有人操作的大型舰艇，该计划在两年前宣布。[1] 然而美国海军已取消其自身的大型无人舰艇计划，导致这一合作面临不确定性。[1] 美国海军项目经理马特·路易斯上尉解释了这一变化的原因，认为"当引入船员操作能力时，会产生许多其他要求、成本和复杂性"。[1]
尽管面临美国计划的变化，澳大利亚政府仍致力于推进该项目，计划在珀斯亨德森船厂建造这些舰艇。[1] 根据现有计划，这些舰艇预计最早在2030年代中期建造。[1] 政府正在考虑与英国或其他国家开展合作以推进项目进展。[1]
The Australian government has decided it need not pioneer development of unmanned surface vessels, instead opting for a "fast follower" strategy in this emerging naval technology domain. [1] This shift comes as the United States Navy has cancelled its own large unmanned vessel program, creating uncertainty around Australia's original plan to jointly develop six optionally crewed vessels with American counterparts. [1]
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy stated that "this is an area where it is in our interests to be a fast follower rather than a leader," reflecting the government's revised stance on the technology. [1] Despite the strategic pivot, the government remains committed to constructing these vessels at the Henderson shipyard in Perth, with construction expected to commence in the mid-2030s at the earliest. [1] Conroy indicated the government is now exploring alternative partnerships with the United Kingdom or other nations to proceed with the initiative. [1]
The cancellation of the U.S. Navy's large unmanned vessel program has introduced additional complexity to the bilateral collaboration. According to U.S. Navy project manager Captain Matt Lewis, "when you introduce crew operating capability, it creates a lot of other requirements, costs and complexity," underscoring technical and financial challenges associated with the optionally crewed design. [1]