The United States deployed unmanned explosive-laden drone boats in a military operation targeting Iran. This is the first official confirmation that the United States is operating Autonomous Driving unmanned surface vessels in combat. As the drone war between the two countries, previously centered on air combat, expands to the sea, tensions around Middle East waters are entering a new phase.
According to Reuters on the 26th (local time), the U.S. Department of defense deployed unmanned drone speedboats for maritime patrol and strike missions as part of military operations against Iran. The drone boat is the Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC) made by U.S. defense contractor BlackSea. It is used mainly for maritime surveillance or for kamikaze-style suicide attacks that rush toward a target.
This vessel, operated by the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which oversees the Middle East region, has already sailed more than 450 hours and over 2,200 nautical miles (about 4,000 kilometers) while carrying out missions during this operation. The U.S. Navy had for years failed to overcome operational errors such as technical defects or collision accidents in the process of building an autonomous unmanned fleet.
However, as real-world data has accumulated, assessments say the Navy's strategy to unmanned its forces has entered a stable zone. Tim Hawkins, Spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, told Reuters that "the U.S. military continues to employ unmanned surface vessel assets, including GARC, in the Middle East," adding, "In particular, this platform is contributing to improving awareness of what is happening in regional waters."
Experts analyze that the U.S. military's deployment of advanced maritime drones is a strategic decision to counter Iran's asymmetric naval power. While using overwhelming air power to strike Iran's mainland, the U.S. Department of defense aims to seize full control of Middle East waters by building a dense surveillance network and immediate strike system at sea using small unmanned vessels.
Until now, Iran has threatened civilian merchant ships by disguising small drone boats, assembled from cheap commercial parts, as fishing boats. Can Kasapoglu, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in the United States, said, "Iran's weapons launch capability has been largely degraded by U.S. and Israeli offensives, but Iran is receiving target data from Russia and others and inflicting massive damage that causes worldwide reverberations even with a small number of attacks."
Donald Trump, the U.S. president commanding this military action, has repeatedly declared a strong offensive will to collapse the Iranian regime. Trump said in a statement that "combat operations are currently continuing with full force and will continue until we achieve all of our objectives," adding, "We have very strong objectives."