US Navy launches drone command that could reshape Taiwan war planning
Por Gabriel Dominguez — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement US-China relations China Military US Navy launches drone command that could reshape Taiwan war planning
The centre aims to integrate air, surface and underwater unmanned platforms into a unified combat-ready force
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Gabriel Dominguez Published: 10:00pm, 29 Sep 2026 The US Navy has set up a dedicated command to turn its growing array of aerial, surface and underwater drones into an integrated fighting force – a capability US commanders have linked to disrupting a PLA attack on Taiwan .
The Robotic and Autonomous Systems Warfighting Development Centre, formally established on September 24 in Virginia, will develop doctrine and tactics for unmanned systems, train sailors to use them, and test whether they can keep operating under realistic conditions.
In a message marking the centre’s launch, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle said the navy had spent years developing and testing robotic systems, but much of that work had taken place separately across different warfighting domains.
“The next step is integration,” he said, adding that proving an individual system worked was not enough. “A prototype is not combat power.”
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