U.S. to deploy 100 maritime combat drones along critical trade routes
[ad_1]
The US Navy wants to deploy up to 100 maritime drones in the Middle East region from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf next year, according to the US Naval Institute.
The most important trade routes between Asia and Europe pass through this region. The Red Sea is connected to the Mediterranean Sea by the Suez Canal.
U.S. 5th Fleet Commander Brad Cooper, speaking at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, said the goal was to have 100 unmanned surface ships patrolling the waters around the Arabian Peninsula by the end of summer 2023. According to him, most of the drones will be supplied by US foreign partners.
He noted that the information coming from each partner and the drone will form a single information space called the “digital ocean”.
The USNI material indicates that over the past year, US Central Command has been testing a concept called Task Force 59, in which maritime drones are connected into a single information network. The largest test of the basic concept of Task Force 59 took place earlier this year, involving 50 drones from various countries. As part of the concept, the maritime drones will reportedly be interconnected and receive all-round cameras and be controlled from the satellite. At the same time, some drones may approach suspicious objects to study them.
In December 2020, the US government announced a new long-term plan for the development of the Navy, which focuses on unmanned systems. For fiscal years 2022-2026, the United States will provide $4.3 billion to build 12 large unmanned surface ships, one medium unmanned surface craft, and eight very large unmanned submersibles.
[ad_2]
Source link
