U.S. Navy Establishes Robotic Autonomous Systems Development

The U.S. Navy has officially established the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Warfighting Development Center (RASWDC) at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. The Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations formally set up the new Echelon 3 center on September 24, 2026, placing it under U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

RASWDC will serve as the Navy's dedicated, Fleet-facing operational integration point for robotic and autonomous capabilities. Its creation marks a critical step in accelerating the development and deployment of unmanned systems across the maritime domain. The Chief of Naval Operations stated, "To maintain our decisive maritime advantage, we must rapidly integrate robotic and autonomous systems into how we operate, train, and deploy."

Purpose and Scope

RASWDC is designed to rapidly test, learn, iterate, and field unmanned capabilities. It will focus on operational employment, conducting operational testing in representative environments and synchronizing efforts across the Navy’s warfare communities. A separate office, the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems (DRPM RAS), will handle acquisition, requirements, budgeting, technical standards, and fielding.

Together, these organizations create a rapid, direct feedback loop between the acquisition enterprise and operational forces. RASWDC will capture lessons from testing, experimentation, and training to return empirical performance data to developers and program managers. This process strengthens what the Navy calls 'The Foundry' by ensuring a direct connection between operational experience and future capability development.

The center's mandate includes educating warfighters, equipping the Fleet with durable tools, and developing combined tactics. It will prepare Sailors by developing specialized doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and an advanced tactical instruction framework to certify and deploy unmanned platforms.

Leadership and Structure

Rear Admiral Melvin Smith has been designated as the inaugural Commander of RASWDC. He is leading a phased near-, mid-, and long-term implementation plan for the new center. This plan includes developing the command structure, mission relationships, and resource requirements as RASWDC progresses toward full operational capability.

Admiral Smith stated that the center's purpose is to consolidate the Navy’s autonomous efforts across air, surface, and undersea domains. It will provide a single home for these efforts at Little Creek. The Chief of Naval Operations described the new organization as "the critical bridge between capability development and operational employment."

RASWDC will not replace the expertise or responsibilities of existing Warfighting Development Centers, Type Commanders, Systems Commands, or operational commands. Instead, it will coordinate directly with these organizations to incorporate emerging requirements and share lessons learned. RASWDC will begin its phased implementation plan under Rear Admiral Smith's leadership to develop command structure and operational capabilities.