The Marine Corps got its inspiration for a new unmanned, semi-submersible vessel from narco-submarines used to transport drugs, a general said.
The vessel is intended to transport equipment, weapons, and supplies to forward-deployed Marines, helping to make US forces more maneuverable and flexible.
Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Simon Doran said Wednesday at a Defense News conference that the idea for the autonomous, low-profile vessel was effectively stolen from vessels used for smuggling drugs.
“Truth be told, this is just a narco-boat,” Doran said. “We stole the idea from friends down south.”
“And so this is 55 feet long, completely autonomous. It’s able to go hundreds or thousands of miles. It’s able to carry weapon systems that we have that are new,” he said. Doran explained that the boats “can carry pretty much anything you want to put in it.”
The Marine Corps previously tested the new vessel at Camp Pendleton in February as part of Project Convergence, an Army-led joint force exercise on advanced capabilities.
The new vessel can be configured to deliver a variety of supplies and equipment, giving the Marines flexibility in how, when, and where to use it.
The low-profile design helps keep the drone out of sight in combat, and the unmanned aspect of the boat allows the Marine Corps to keep its personnel out of risk, Doran said.
“If you have that unit located inside a weapons engagement zone, contested logistics and the ability to maneuver in the littorals becomes key,” Doran said. “And for that, what we’re looking at is trying to acquire systems that we deem risk worthy, meaning that we don’t necessarily want to just waste them, but we’d rather put something in there that’s autonomous, that doesn’t have humans on it that can do some of these higher risk missions without having personnel put in that riskier situation.”
Unmanned capabilities have been at the forefront of the Pentagon’s thinking. Last year, the Department of Defense officially announced the Replicator Initiative long-term program to field thousands of autonomous systems. Much of the plan’s progress has been quiet, although some signs — including $1 billion allocated for the program this fiscal year — have indicated progress.
A major drive for Replicator has been a potential conflict with China, with US defense officials increasingly affirming that unmanned systems are an asymmetric advantage against China should the two superpowers clash one day.
Looking at a potential China fight, the Pentagon has focused on things like dispersal and maneuverability to shield forces from a missile strike or how to engage in electronic warfare for battles inside the electromagnetic spectrum. But there’s also an emphasis on the unmanned.
The military has looked at unmanned warships, wingmen, and recon assets, among other things, to give the joint force a boost in battle.
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