The rescue of two US Army helicopter crew members by a navy drone has spotlighted Task Force 59, the US Navy's first dedicated unmanned systems unit, based in Bahrain and part of Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), which oversees US naval operations in the Middle East.
Since its establishment in 2021, the task force has been testing and deploying an expanding fleet of sea drones across the region, reflecting a broader Pentagon effort to develop autonomous vessels as cost-effective, rapid-response assets, though the concept has faced notable setbacks and technical challenges.
The US operates both surface and underwater unmanned vessels, designed for specific roles and missions.
Surface vessels range widely in size. On the smaller end are the five-metre long angular speedboats like the global autonomous reconnaissance craft (GARC) used for reconnaissance of ports, shorelines and vessels.
Larger high-speed boats such as the L3Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13 can perform surveillance, assist with targeting and relay communications at sea.
The navy operates unmanned underwater vehicles across several classes — large, medium, and small — each designed for different missions and depths. Large underwater drones can travel thousands of miles on their own, while smaller ones are used for shorter-range tasks such as mine detection.
Much of what the US military has developed and deployed in this category is classified, and systems that become public tend to disappear from view quickly.
Sea drones serve diverse roles. Many are built for surveillance and to track the enemy, or help clear mines, while others are designed for offensive or combat-related tasks.
The US military said the drone that carried out the rescue was a US Navy Corsair, which manufacturer Saronic says on its website is a 24-foot (7.3-metre) autonomous surface vessel (ASV) capable of carrying up to 1,000 lbs (454 kilograms) over 1,000 nautical miles.
Some sea drones have had great success. Ukraine's Magura V5 - not a US asset - is the most combat-proven sea drone. It has sunk multiple Russian warships and, in December 2024, shot down a Russian helicopter—marking the first instance of a sea drone destroying an aircraft.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)