US Navy turns to sea drones in MidEast

The US Navy is turning to unmanned tech to help regional states monitor the waters of the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.

AL-MONITOR Staff
AL-MONITOR Staff
MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images
A US Navy Martin UAV drone flies over the Gulf waters as Royal Bahrain Naval Force Abdulrahman Al Fadhel takes part in joint naval exercise between US Fifth Fleet Command and Bahraini forces, on Oct. 26, 2021. — MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images

The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet plans to deploy more than 100 unmanned drones in Middle East sea lanes by 2023 to help monitor weapons trafficking and other illicit activities in the region.

The commander of the US Navy’s forces in the Middle East, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, previewed the plans in comments to reporters on the sidelines of an international defense expo in the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

“By using unmanned systems, we can just simply see more. They’re high reliability and remove the human factor,” Cooper was quoted as saying.

Cooper was quoted as saying unmanned systems “are the only way” to cover gaps in US and partners’ naval patrols.

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