West 2026: Navy secretary cites US shifts based on Ukraine war lessons

The development of unmanned platforms like Mariner (pictured) is key for future US Navy fleet plans. (Janes/Michael Fabey)

The Ukraine war is forcing the US Navy (USN) to change the way it looks at weapons acquisition and construction, according to USN Secretary John Phelan.

“The Ukraine war has revealed a fundamental challenge – the cumbersome nature of how we buy and build weapons; the best weapons or drones lose their relevance far faster than our procurement and defence industry can adjust,” Phelan said on 12 February during his keynote speech at the WEST 2026 conference in San Diego, California.

“The obsolescence is nearly immediate,” Phelan said.

“Ukraine – without a traditional navy – successfully contested and degraded a force that should have dominated them at sea,” Phelan noted.

He then cited reasons for Ukraine's success: “By moving faster. By adapting faster. By innovating faster.”

“Rapid iteration is the cornerstone of the changing character of war. The modern fight favours those that can rapidly prototype, test under fire, incorporate operator feedback, and scale successful innovations on the front lines in real time faster than opponents can react,” he said.

“Unmanned surface, subsurface, and aerial systems integrated with artificial intelligence, electronic warfare, and creative tactics produced disproportionate effects,” Phelan added.

The secretary underscored the importance of unmanned systems in the new USN so-called ‘Golden Fleet' construct.

“Unmanned systems are not a side project of the Golden Fleet,” he said. They are a core element and the foundation of maritime industrial base expansion.”

To read more about USN progress on unmanned systems or countering adversary systems, please seeSpecial Report: US Navy notes unmanned milestones and progress towards tailored force .