The Pentagon has outlined the type of inexpensive, unmanned systems it plans to field next year under its Replicator program to help offset China’s military advantage in personnel and manned equipment and deter a potential invasion of Taiwan.
“The first tranche of Replicator capabilities (will) include uncrewed surface vehicles (USV), uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and counter-uncrewed aerial systems (c-UAS) of various sizes and payloads from several traditional and non-traditional vendors,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said Monday in a statement.
The Replicator initiative is part of a radical new strategy unveiled last August focused on fielding thousands of cheap, smart and autonomous attack drones across multiple domains to match China's rapidly growing air and naval power and make sure Washington has the edge in any potential conflict.