We have emphasized from the start that even though we place the events of Naval War: Arctic Circle twenty years into the future, in 2030, it is absolutely not a science fiction game. The ships and aircraft, weapons and sensors you will use in NW:AC already exist, or are being planned as we speak. It takes decades for new major equipment to be developed and produced, so it is unlikely anything significant is going to happen in military technology between now and then. 

Except, maybe, in the area of remote controlled units, especially UAVs. 

UAVs have been all the rage in military aviation for quite some time, only punctuated by stories about cost overruns and project cutbacks on certain  famous manned prestige aircraft. This makes perfect sense, since UAVs are far less expensive than manned aircraft, and their loss obviously far less serious. Non-aircraft-carrier surface ships typically carry one, maybe two helicopters. These are very expensive, have a short range and relatively modest speed. Any surface ship could carry a number of UAVs with varying capabilities. At the minimum, UAVs will provide valuable recon data over a far larger area than on-ship sensors. Equipping them with sonobuoys is certainly not a stretch. Some also carry offensive capabilities, like Hellfire missiles. Most have very long ranges, and can stay in the air for a long time without refueling.

Obviously, by 2030, the time of Naval War: Arctic Circle, UAVs will almost certainly be much more crucial to military operations than they are even today, and this will apply to naval warfare as much as on land. Over time, massively expensive aircraft carriers may well be near-obsolete (and therefor not cost-effective) because every major warship carries a full air wing of unmanned aircraft that can fulfill any role, as well as robotic submarines and small surface vessels.

NW:AC is certainly going to reflect developments in UAV technology, using conservative guesstimates to avoid changing the naval war game completely. We create this game to allow ourselves and other enthusiasts to play with the great machines of war, as our ad says, to employ the fearsome and formidable technology of today's major warships and aircraft in a dramatic game of hide and seek on the open seas and coastal waters. That is not going to change. UAVs will give the player more sets of ears and eyes, and some modest offensive firepower, but the heavy lifting will still have to be done by manned aircraft, submarines and surface combatants.

Here is an interesting article that provides a good overview of US Navy UAV programmes past and present.