Uncrewed surface vessels would still face wear, salt-water damage, electrical faults, and fires, even with redundancy built into their systems. A US-2 fitted to carry and launch a boat could alight nearby and deliver engineers to repair a vessel. The team could return to the aircraft after the repair or remain aboard for a couple of nights before another aircraft collected them. This proposed support role could reach a casualty when a maintenance ship or a vessel carrying helicopters was too far away. Uncrewed operations would therefore still require spending on personnel, transport, and the infrastructure that keeps the vessels working.
Notable Point · 1:12-3:47
Using the US-2 to support uncrewed fleets
A proposed support role would use the amphibious US-2 to carry repair teams to uncrewed vessels operating far from support ships.