U.S. Gives Four Underwater-Capable Surveillance Drones to the Philippines

The U.S. government is transferring ownership of four advanced drone boats to the Philippines, expanding the ability of the country's navy to monitor its EEZ and keep an eye on Chinese incursions. The objective is to improve detection of China's movements in the Philippine EEZ.

The devices are Ocean Aero Triton sailing USVs, which are solar-powered and wind-propelled. Uniquely, they can operate in a submerged mode without further input from the operator, transitioning from sailing to deep-dive submergence autonomously. They have a very low radar cross-section to avoid detection, and can carry a broad variety of payloads for ISR, mine countermeasures, antisubmarine warfare and more. Common payload choices for military applications include high resolution video sensors, thermal imaging, solid state radars, passive towed arrays, and side-scan and gap-filler sonars, the company says.

Press handout courtesy Ocean Aero

The transfer follows shortly after a multiday U.S.-Philippine coast guard exercise in the South China Sea, which was closely tracked by China Coast Guard assets. From May 26-30, the USCGC Midgett operated within about 40 nm of Chinese-occupied Scarborough Shoal, the main flash point in the region. CCG vessels held a counter-exercise near the shoal to demonstrate opposition to the U.S. presence.

U.S. forces have also been testing out unmanned-vessel tactics in the area. Just last month, U.S. Army Green Berets used a drone boat with an explosive payload to sink a decommissioned merchant vessel in the Strait of Luzon, demonstrating the use of Ukraine-style tactics in a Western Pacific context.

The boat itself was derived from the design of the Ukrainian Magura attack drone, according to naval analyst H.I. Sutton, and the warhead was an explosively formed penetrator shaped charge - designed for cutting through steel.