Maybe, analysts say, but there are big barriers to fielding the uncrewed vessels on the scale needed
4-MIN READ4-MIN ListenLawrence Chungin TaipeiPublished: 11:16am, 24 Apr 2026Taiwanese analysts have broadly welcomed a new US Navy plan to deploy thousands of uncrewed surface vessels across the Indo-Pacific by 2030, saying it could complicate Beijing’s military planning and strengthen deterrence.
The assessments follow remarks this week by Captain Garrett Miller, who said the US Navy expected to field more than 30 medium uncrewed surface vessels in the Indo-Pacific by 2030, alongside thousands of smaller drone boats and aerial systems operating from manned and unmanned ships.
Cheap, expendable uncrewed vessels could help raise the cost of blockade or attack scenarios by forcing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to track and engage far more targets, defence officials noted.
But analysts in Taipei said geography and industrial reality could limit how much of that capacity would actually be available around Taiwan.
