A U.S. Navy littoral combat ship coordinated with unmanned vessels and an unmanned aerial vehicle to destroy a target boat during an exercise in the Persian Gulf, service officials said.
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Monday’s drills came amid heightened confrontations between Iranian drone pilots and the US military in Middle Eastern waters. including one this week High-ranking Navy officials described it as dangerous and unprofessional.
The Freedom-class USS Indianapolis has networked with drones to locate a target destroyed by a MARTAC T-38 Devil Ray surface-to-air missile-armed missile, U.S. Naval Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet said in a statement Wednesday.
According to the statement, the exercise relied on a person at the 59th Group Robotics Operations Center in Bahrain to make the decision.
The results “proved that these unmanned platforms paired with our manned combat ships can increase the lethality of the fleet,” said Capt. Colin Corridan, commander of the task force.
The exercise involving the USS Indianapolis was the second in more than a month in which the Navy used unmanned aerial vehicles to fire munitions. An earlier round also used a T-38 Devil Ray to destroy a target boat, the service said.
A T-38 Devil Ray unmanned surface-to-air missile destroys a training facility during Exercise Digital Talon 2 in the Persian Gulf, Nov. 27, 2023. (Marita Schwab/US Army)
Other drones in Monday’s exercise included a Flexrotor aircraft, an Arabian Fox MAST-13 and an additional T-38.
Task Force 59 is known for experimenting with drones to patrol waters in the Middle East.
The department recently began working on weaponizing drones.
In September, underwater, surface and airborne drones tracked Iranian warships during several days of patrols in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the Navy said earlier this month.
Monday’s exercise was two days before the destroyer USS Carney shot down the drone U.S. officials said they were approaching the ship, which was launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. Iran supports the Houthis.
The USS Indianapolis littoral combat ship with two T-38 Devil Ray unmanned surface ships and an Arabian Fox MAST-13 unmanned aerial vehicle during exercise Digital Talon 2 in the Persian Gulf, Nov. 27, 2023. (Marita Schwab/US Army)
On Tuesday, an Iranian drone came within 1,500 yards of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier during routine flight operations in the central Persian Gulf, Navy officials said.
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the 5th Fleet, described Iran’s drone operation as “unsafe, unprofessional and irresponsible.”
Earlier in the day, the USS Thomas Hudner destroyer shot down several unilateral attack drones emanating from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, US officials said.
Iran-linked militants have carried out dozens of attacks on US ground forces in Syria and Iraq since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7.
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