The US and UK navies have tested unmanned surveillance ships in the Persian Gulf, with the aim of improving “maritime surveillance” by unmanned ships and operators, the US Navy’s Central Command said in a statement.
The one-day exercise, dubbed Phantom Scope, took place off the coast of Bahrain on Friday with forces from the US 5th Fleet and the UK Royal Navy.
According to the report, three Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessels (USVs) participated along with guided-missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119), USCGC Robert Goldman rapid-response cutter (WPC 1142) and Royal Navy ships. Countermeasures HMS Chiddingfold (M37). ) and HMS Bangor (M109).
In August, Noor News, a website close to Iran’s National Security Council, reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had captured and released an unmanned US ship in the Gulf.
A US Fifth Fleet report at the time confirmed that the US Navy had thwarted an attempt by the Iranian Navy to seize a naval-operated drone in the Gulf.
According to the Fifth Fleet report, the Saildrone Explorer, equipped with sensors, radar and cameras, was traveling in international waters to collect navigation and unspecified data.
The vessel has a five-meter steel wingspan and uses solar and wind energy for power generation and can spend up to a year on mission.
Since 2020, tensions have risen in the Gulf region after the US sent military reinforcements in the wake of attacks on two oil tankers in the Sea of Oman, as well as the downing of a US spy plane. Iran missile over Strait of Hormuz.
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