USV autonomy, communications, and the cost of control

Can USVs operate anywhere without a nearby major warship while forcing defenders to spend more than the attacking boats cost?

Those advantages are conditional: ocean-going USVs need support and reliable control, while autonomy creates accountability problems and defensive guns may remain cheaper than the craft attacking them.

An uncrewed boat operating far from a supporting warship still needs communications and a hull able to survive the local sea conditions. Giving it greater autonomy reduces the data burden but raises difficult questions about mistaken attacks and responsibility within the command chain. Closer supervision instead demands continuing satellite traffic and exposes links to jamming, hacking, or interception. The claimed cost advantage also changes when a boat needs the computers, systems, and seakeeping required for deep-water operations. Defensive guns may cost less than the attacking craft, so the exchange cannot be judged from the attacker's advertised hull price alone. The calculation also needs to allow for attacks that fail and have to be repeated.