ROBOTS, DROIDS and DRONES: News about unmanned systems from the Red Sea, Black Sea, California, Hawaii and Estonia
DRONE WARS. Red Sea: Houtis vs the U.S., UK, Israel (and seemingly everything afloat in the Mideast) Yemen's Houthi rebels claim they have attacked another ship traveling through the Red Sea June 27, 2024, using an unmanned surface vessel, accordin…
Red Sea: Houtis vs the U.S., UK, Israel (and seemingly everything afloat in the Mideast)
Yemen's Houthi rebels claim they have attacked another ship traveling through the Red Sea June 27, 2024, using an unmanned surface vessel, according to The Associated Press.
The ship issued a radio call off the coast of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida saying it had been struck, the private security firm Ambrey first reported. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center also confirmed the attack, the AP said.
"The nature of the attack is reported as a waterborne improvised explosive device," the UKMTO said. "The vessel and crew are reported as safe and the vessel is proceeding to their next port of call."
The UKMTO did not elaborate, but a Houthi military spokesman, in a prerecorded message released June 27, said the rebels used a drone boat in the attack on the vessel. They identified the ship as the Seajoy, a Malta-flagged bulk carrier.
It was the latest in the rebels campaign targeting shipping over the Israel-Hamas war.
An F-18 takes off from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower to strike Houthi targets in Yemen, Feb. 3, 2024. (Photo by U.S. Central Command)
The Houtis have targeted more than 60 vessels by firing missiles and drones in a campaign that has killed a total of four sailors. They seized one vessel and sank two since November. A U.S.-led airstrike campaign has targeted the Houthis since January, with a series of strikes on May 30 killing at least 16 people and wounding 42 others, the rebels say.
The Houthis maintain that their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the Israel-Hamas war — including some bound for Iran.
Meanwhile on June 27, the U.N. Security Council again demanded that the Houthi rebels immediately halt all attacks on ships in the region and called for the conflicts disrupting maritime security to be addressed — without naming the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
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(A version of this report appeared June 20 under the heading BALTIC-to-BLACK: Ukrainian Drones Punishing Russia's Black Sea Fleet)
Black Sea: Ukraine vs. Russia
Ukrainian drone attacks in the Black Sea have forced Russian ships to bounce from port to port and reinforce harbor defenses, Defense One reported recently, citing satellite imagery and analysis.
According to the imagery, ship traffic in Sevastopol dropped 18 percent after Ukrainian missiles struck warships and the naval base there last September. Meanwhile, ship traffic increased by more than 20 percent in Feodosia (100 miles away, on the other side of Crimea) and Novorossiysk (more than 200 miles away on Russia's Black Sea coast) between September and December of 2022.
The satellite images also show Russian forces setting up defensive buoys and booms and staging small vessels at Sevastopol to hinder Ukrainian drones, according to Defense One's Patrick Tucker.
Ukraine estimates its missile and drone attacks have destroyed more than 20 Russian ships around a third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, since 2022.
Note: (A version of this report appeared June 20 under the heading BALTIC-to-BLACK: Ukrainian Drones Punishing Russia's Black Sea Fleet)
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DEFENSE/INDUSTRY
Marines Hit a Milestone in Drone "Independence"
The U.S. Marine Corps recently completed the first all-Marine satellite communications launch and recovery, Marine Corps Times reports, noting that the Corps wants to grow its own drone force and capabilities for future operations.
The Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3 (VMU 3 reached the operational milestone on June 20, 2024 out of Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii.
According to Marine Corps Times, the event is significant because when units usually do launch and recovery missions, they have to command and control through line-of-sight communications, which severely restricts distances and requires specialized aviators and large transport aircraft. By using the satellite infrastructure, Marines can streamline and lengthen operational reach for drones and other assets.
However, historically the Marine Corps -- the smallest of the military branches -- has had to rely on the Air Force or Army for the expertise and the equipment.
As the Corps pushes to operate more distributed and in smaller teams, especially across the vast Pacific region, it has also sought to expand its drone fleet, drone operator force and the capabilities of those drones. To read more, click here.
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Making the MQ-9B SeaGuardian Drone More Lethal.
California-based drone maker General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and Lockheed Martin are collaborating to bolster the Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Targeting capability for General Atomics' MQ-9B SeaGuardian unmanned aircraft system (UAS).
The MQ-9B SeaGuardian® unmanned aircraft system (UAS) is designed to enhance for maritime domain operations. (Photo courtesy General Atomics Aeronautical)
The two major defense contractors are collaborating to provide the long range (UAS) with Net-Enabled Weapons (NEW) technology, which provides expanded sensor targeting applications for the precision targeting of long-range weapons.
The MQ-9B SeaGuardian is a medium-altitude, long-endurance UAS. Its multi-domain capabilities allow it to shift from mission to mission. That persistence, coupled with a vast array of precision targeting sensors, enables a more efficient kill chains -- the link between units in need of SeaGuardian intelligence gathering and weaponry, those who operate the big drone and the leadership that commands them all, especially in contested environments, according to General Atomics.
SeaGuardian has been used by the U.S. in several recent demonstrations, including Northern Edge, Integrated Battle Problem, and Group Sail.
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Estonia Becoming a Hotbed for Drone Warfare
Defense One has an interesting story about tiny Estonia, with a population of just 1.3 million, and a belligerent Russia on its doorstep is busy designing, building and testing unmanned systems of all sizes , including experimental loitering munitions that cost a fraction of similar one-way drones made in the United States.
The Baltic Region. (Map: CIA World Factbook)
"With a close eye on Ukraine's use of drones, Estonians are fielding new kit, changing doctrine, and revamping training for unmanned systems in case they also have to repel a Russian invasion one day," reports Defense One's Sam Skove from the Baltic state's capital Tallinn.
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