미해군, 올해 USV 2척 실전배치

[위종민]

미해군이 USV 2척을 2026년 실전배치하고 그 중 한 척은 항모전투단에 배치한다고 합니다. 

2045년에는 절반 가량의 해군 함정이 USV일 거라고 합니다. 

더 이상 ‘실험적’ 단계 아냐: 해군, 올해 무인 수상정 배치 예정이라고 관계자 밝혀
한 해군 관계자는 2045년까지 해군 수상 전력의 거의 절반이 무인화될 것으로 예상된다고 말했다.

마이클 마로
2026년 1월 16일 오후 2시 10분

2022년 5월 13일 캘리포니아주 샌디에이고 — 중형 배수량 무인 수상정 시 헌터(Sea Hunter)가 무인 수상정 제1전대(USDIV One) 창설식 기간 중 샌디에이고 해군기지 부두에 정박해 있다. (미 해군 사진, 대중소통전문병 2급 케빈 C. 라이트너 촬영)

수상 해군 2026 — 여러 차례의 시제품 개발을 거쳐, 해군은 올해 중형 규모의 드론 보트 두 척을 배치하고 그중 한 척을 항모 타격단과 통합할 준비가 되었다고 군 관계자가 밝혔다.

수상전 개발그룹 제1전단 사령관인 개럿 밀러 대령은 수요일 워싱턴에서 열린 수상해군협회(Surface Navy Association) 콘퍼런스에서 두 대의 드론, 즉 중형 배수량 무인 수상정(MDUSV)으로 불리는 시 헌터와 시호크(Seahawk)가 “더 이상 실험용 선박이 아닐 것”이라며, “실제로 함대의 통제를 받게 되고, 수상 전력에 배속되어 실제로 나가 훌륭한 임무를 수행할 수 있게 될 것”이라고 말했다.

밀러 대령은 이들 드론 중 한 척이 2026년에 항모 타격단과 함께 배치될 것이라고 밝혔으나, 어느 드론이나 어느 타격단인지는 언급하지 않았다. (Defense News는 해당 드론이 시호크라고 보도했다.)

또한 밀러 대령은 해군이 “다음 주” 무인 기술 도입과 함께 성장할 수 있는 세 개의 ‘초기 지휘’ 무인 수상정(USV) 전대를 창설할 계획이라고 말했다. 궁극적으로 해군은 “모든 함대에 운용화된 USV 전대”를 보유하게 될 것이라고 그는 덧붙였다. 밀러 대령은 2027년까지 해군이 11척의 MDUSV를 보유할 것으로 예상하며, 이는 2030년까지 30척 이상으로 증가할 것이라고 밝혔다.

두 기종 모두 레이도스(Leidos)가 제작했으며, 시호크와 시 헌터는 해군 훈련에서 길잡이 역할을 한 시제 함정으로 활용되어 왔다. 시 헌터는 무인 잠수함 추적 및 감지 플랫폼으로 개발된 DARPA 프로그램을 통해 먼저 등장했다. 시 헌터에서 얻은 교훈을 바탕으로 해군은 2017년에 시호크에 대한 계약을 체결했으며, 이 드론은 2021년에 해군에 인도되었다.

레이도스 방산 부문 커뮤니케이션 부사장 콘래드 천은 이날 Breaking Defense에, 회사는 “수년간의 엄격한 시험과 실제 배치를 통해 검증된 임무 준비 상태의 레이도스 자율 선박 아키텍처(LAVA)를 기반으로, 혁신적인 무인 수상정을 통해 이러한 역동적인 능력을 해군에 제공하는 데 전념하고 있다”고 말했다.

해군 관계자들은 무인 선박이 기뢰 대응 활동부터 타격 임무, 정보·감시·정찰에 이르기까지 다양한 해상 임무를 강화할 수 있다고 말한다. 다만, 군 관계자들은 구체적인 운용 개념을 수립하는 데에는 아직 해야 할 일이 남아 있다고 밝혔다.

드론은 향후 수년간 해군 전체 배수량의 상당 부분을 차지하게 될 것이며, 구상 중인 미래의 ‘골든 플릿’에도 포함될 전망이다. 그러나 관계자들은 무인 선박이 유인 함정을 대체하는 것이 아니라 보완하게 될 것이라고 강조한다. 목요일 별도의 패널 토론에서 미 태평양함대 해군 수상전 사령관 특별보좌관인 크리스토퍼 알렉산더 해군 소장은, 국방부 전반의 드론 기술 활용 확대와 맞물려 향후 수십 년 동안 무인 시스템이 기하급수적으로 증가할 것으로 해군은 예상하고 있다고 말했다.

알렉산더 소장은 콘퍼런스 참석자들에게 “미래를 향한 일부 전망을 보면, 2045년까지 수상 전력의 약 45%가 무인 시스템이 될 것으로 예상하고 있다”고 말했다.

그는 이어 “미래는 이미 와 있다. 무인 시스템, 자율 시스템, 인공지능. 이것은 미래가 아니다. 지금 바로 일어나고 있다”고 덧붙였다.

No longer 'experimental': Navy to deploy drone boats this year, official says - Breaking Defense

No longer 'experimental': Navy to deploy drone boats this year, official says - Breaking Defense

No longer ‘experimental’: Navy to deploy drone boats this year, official says

A Navy official said he expects by 2045 for nearly half of all naval surface vessels to be unmanned.

By Michael Marrow on January 16, 2026 2:10 pm

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SAN DIEGO (May 13, 2022) – The medium-displacement unmanned surface vessel Sea Hunter sits pierside at Naval Base San Diego, during the Unmanned Surface Vessel Division (USDIV) One Establishment ceremony. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kevin C. Leitner)

SURFACE NAVY 2026 — After rounds of prototyping, the Navy is ready to deploy two of its medium-sized drone boats this year and even integrate one with a carrier strike group, according to a service official.

Capt. Garrett Miller told the Surface Navy Association conference in Washington on Wednesday that the two drones — the Sea Hunter and Seahawk, dubbed medium displacement uncrewed surface vessels or MDUSVs — “will no longer be experimental vessels. They will actually be under fleet control, assigned to surface forces to be able to actually go out and do great things.” 

Miller, the commodore of Surface Development Group One, said one of the drones would deploy with a carrier strike group in 2026, though he did not say which drone or group. (Defense News reported the drone in question is the Seahawk.)

Additionally, Miller said the Navy “next week” plans to stand up three “early command” USV divisions that can grow alongside the service’s foray into unmanned technologies. Eventually the Navy will have “operationalized USV squadrons in every fleet.” By 2027, Miller said the Navy expects to have 11 MDUSVs in its inventory, which should grow to over 30 by 2030. 

Both manufactured by Leidos, the Seahawk and Sea Hunter have served as pathfinder prototypes in Navy exercises. The Sea Hunter came first under a DARPA program, developed as an unmanned sub tracker and sensing platform. Drawing lessons from the Sea Hunter, the Navy awarded a contract for the Seahawk in 2017, and the drone was delivered to the service in 2021. 

Conrad Chun, Leidos Defense communications vice president, told Breaking Defense today the firm is “committed to delivering these dynamic capabilities to the Navy through our innovative unmanned surface vessels, underpinned by proven mission-ready Leidos Autonomous Vessel Architecture (LAVA) that has been validated through years of rigorous testing and real-world deployments.”

Navy officials say the uncrewed ships can bolster a range of maritime missions, from counter-mine activities to kinetic strikes and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Still, service representatives say work lies ahead for crafting specific concepts of operation.

Drones will constitute a considerable bulk of the Navy’s overall displacement in the coming years, including in the envisioned future Golden Fleet, though officials stress the uncrewed vessels will add to manned ships instead of replacing them. In a separate panel conversation on Thursday, Rear Adm. Christopher Alexander said the Navy anticipates an exponential growth of unmanned systems over the coming decades, mirroring a wider push by the Pentagon to harness drone technology. 

“Looking at some projections moving out over the future, by 2045 we expect about 45 percent of the surface force to be unmanned systems,” Alexander, special assistant to the commander for naval surface forces at the US Pacific Fleet, told conference attendees.

“The future is now,” he added. “Unmanned systems, autonomous systems. AI, it’s not the future. It’s happening right now.”