The Coast Guard said it will invest nearly $350 million to expand robotics and autonomous systems as part of its Force Design 2028 plan. The initiative is intended to strengthen mission execution and improve operational safety across the service.
According to the announcement, the funding comes through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and includes $11 million in fiscal year 2025 for immediate upgrades. Initial investments total $11.1 million and cover remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), and short-range unmanned aircraft systems.
The agency reported that $4.8 million will be used to procure 16 VideoRay Defender ROVs to replace the Deployable Specialized Forces’ aging fleet. Another $2 million is designated to purchase six Qinetiq Squad Packable Utility Robots along with 12 mini-SPURs, replacing older unmanned ground vehicles used by Coast Guard Strike Teams. In addition, $4.3 million will fund the acquisition of 125 SkyDio X10D short-range unmanned aircraft systems.
“These unmanned systems provide increased domain awareness, mitigating risk and enhancing mission success as the Coast Guard continues to operate in hazardous environments,” said Anthony Antognoli, the service’s first program executive officer for robotics and autonomous systems.
The Coast Guard said Deployable Specialized Forces will use the new ROVs for pier inspections, hull assessments, subsurface infrastructure surveys, disaster response, and search and rescue. Their use will reduce reliance on divers and increase safety, the Coast Guard said.
Strike Teams, which respond to hazardous material spills, marine casualties, groundings, natural disasters, and CBRN incidents, will use the new UGVs to access and sample air in confined spaces aboard commercial vessels.
The SkyDio drones will support infrastructure inspections, environmental observation, pollution response, post-storm surveys, ice surveys, and communications.
The Program Executive Office for Robotics and Autonomous Systems is one of the efforts tied to Force Design 2028, which the Coast Guard said is an accelerated plan to integrate new technology, personnel, and organizational changes into operations.
