US, partners to patrol West Asian waters with 100-strong sea drone fleet
The US Navy and its security partners will patrol waters in West Asia with 100 unmanned vessels next year.
The US Navy will patrol waters in West Asia with its security partners next year using unmanned vessels in order to "improve deterrence against attacks."
"We are at the cusp of an unmanned technological revolution," Vice Admiral Brad Cooper told a defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi, where he unveiled plans for the joint fleet.
The US Navy established a new task force last year to integrate drone systems with artificial intelligence into its fifth fleet.
"By the summer of next year, 100 advanced unmanned surface vessels would be patrolling the waters around this region."
Cooper said that the US and its "Middle East allies" would both operate much of the new fleet "to boost deterrence and threat detection and better secure critical waterways."
"No navy acting alone can protect against all the threats here in this region. The region is simply too big. We must address this in a coordinated multinational way," Cooper said, adding "It's well established that Iran is the principal security threat in the region."
"Israel" leads Red Sea navy exercises with Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, & more
On February 18, The US Navy had confirmed that it had carried out maritime maneuvers, called the International Maritime Exercise (IMX), in which 9,000 people from 60 countries participated. The 18-day biennial exercises were launched on January 31.
The exercises, which took place in the Red Sea, were led by the Israeli forces as well as many other countries that do not have official diplomatic ties with "Israel," including United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.
The Pakistani newspaper, Dawn, quoted a US statement, saying these maneuvers took place on the coast of the Arabian Sea, extending to the coasts of the Horn of Africa, including key regional players such as Oman, Yemen, Djibouti, and Comoros - countries that do not have relations with "Israel."