The Secretary of Defense has made it clear that he believes a down-sizing of the Navy is part of the plan for being able to sustain our military efforts in the near future. Personally, I agree with him. Which may come as a surprise considering the fact that I am a U.S. Navy Chief, but the fact of the matter is the Navy is expensive, and much of it is antiquated. When is the last time the Marines made a real amphibious assault? Hell, when is the last time a Marine has even set foot on a ship? The face of combat is changing, and the military must change with it. The future of the U.S. Navy is not in blue water. The future of the U.S. Navy lies in brown water, rivers and the littorals.

Part of the new strategy for the Navy will involve increased reliance on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). With that in mind, two San Diego County defense contractors are hustling to develop a new generation of comparatively inexpensive, UAVs in in response to Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ call for a less costly naval arsenal.

Secretary Gates said the military needs to re-examine whether it can afford so many aircraft carriers and submarines when more money is needed to underwrite the Army and Marine Corps.

It makes sense that we should divert greater resources to the Army and Marine Corps, which are leading the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, while the Navy is playing a supporting role. The Navy already has long-term plans to slightly downsize its fleet, including the decommissioning of all of the remaining Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates.

“The secretary took the Navy to the woodshed, telling them that the future will look far different than the past, and that means more UAVs,” said John Pike, a defense analyst at GlobalSecurity.org in Alexandria, Va.

Northrop Grumman recently announced it will team up with Bell Helicopter to develop “Fire X“, a more robust version of the Fire Scout, a tactical UAV that’s designed to take off and land vertically.

“Fire X would be able to fly for 14-plus hours and carry about 3,000 pounds of sensors,” said Brooks McKinney, a Northrop spokesman. “Fire Scout can stay up five to seven hours and carry 600 pounds of sensors” for surveying and other reconnaissance activity.

“We’re going to put together a single demonstration vehicle with Bell, and hope to get business from the military,” McKinney said.

Northrop Grumman could face competition from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems of Poway, which says it will develop the Sea Avenger, a derivative of its well-known Predator C drone.

A Predator C costs $12 million to $15 million, making it far less costly than the estimated $41 million F/A-18 Hornet jet fighter that is widely used by the Navy and Marines.

Both firms likely will have to contend with Boeing, which has long had a military-oriented UAV program.

“The military has to get costs down,” Pike said. He was referring in particular to the F-35 jet fighter, some of which will be stationed at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. “The F-35 will cost $100 million to $150 million — 10 times the cost of the Predator. Operating a manned aircraft requires an enormous cast of people.”

The way ahead is not yet clear, but it is certain to be interesting.