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RASWDC Is Where the Navy Will Decide How Its Unmanned Systems Fight
Companies building unmanned systems for the Navy have had a clear acquisition door and an unclear operational one. They could find the office that buys, then struggle to find the Sailors who would decide how the system is actually employed. On 25 September the Navy created that second door.
What was established
The Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations established the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Warfighting Development Center (RASWDC), Naval News reported. Key facts:
- Location: Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story.
- Command relationship: Echelon 3 warfighting development center under U.S. Fleet Forces Command.
- Leadership: Rear Admiral Melvin Smith, the first commander, who is leading a phased plan toward full operational capability.
- Scope: unmanned air, surface and subsurface systems.
How it divides the work with DRPM RAS
According to Naval News, the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems owns acquisition, requirements implementation, budgeting, technical standards and fielding. RASWDC owns operational employment: operational testing in representative environments, and the doctrine and tactics, techniques and procedures used to certify and deploy these platforms. Lessons from its testing, experimentation and training are meant to flow straight back to developers and program managers. It does not replace existing warfighting development centers, type commanders or systems commands.
Why vendors should care
Rear Adm. Smith described part of the mandate as equipping "the Fleet with tools that actually survive the environment," per the announcement. That is an operator's standard, and the employment concepts written at Little Creek will steer what acquisition is asked to buy. UDC recommends that companies with unmanned products treat RASWDC as a second audience alongside DRPM RAS, and make their case around how Sailors will employ the system, not only its specifications.
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First published in Closing Rate on September 25, 2026. Read the original.
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