The U.S. Navy has deployed a fleet of air, surface and underwater drones to patrol the Persian Gulf, combining their surveillance with artificial intelligence, according to France24.
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Details of the programme emerged after two incidents on 29–30 August and 1 September 2022 involving Iranian forces, who twice attempted to seize the drones.
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In the first incident, a vessel from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hooked a Saildrone unmanned surface vessel with a towline and began towing it. When a patrol craft and a U.S. Navy helicopter arrived at the scene, the authorities released the vessel.
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In the second case, an Iranian destroyer recovered two Saildrones in the Red Sea and brought them aboard. The American forces retrieved the devices the following day, albeit without video cameras.
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Iranian officials said the drones were in international waters and hindered the free passage of vessels. They were retrieved ‘to prevent possible accidents’.
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The U.S. Navy said the drones operated outside shipping lanes and were unarmed.
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Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of U.S. Central Command, called Iran’s actions ‘shocking, unjustified and inconsistent with the conduct of professional naval forces’.
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‘The U.S. will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law permits,’ he added.
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The drone-patrol programme in the Persian Gulf has been in operation since September 2021. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the U.S. Fifth Fleet, said that the military obtains information from all unmanned sources—air, land and sea—and also uses AI to detect unusual activity.
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‘You need artificial intelligence to determine what deserves more attention,’ Hawkins said.
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He added that the programme is not secret. The command was puzzled as to why Iran, a year after its launch, attempted to seize several ships.
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Earlier, the U.S. military conducted international naval exercises using AI and unmanned systems.
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In August, the U.S. Navy demonstrated an unmanned mine-countermeasures vessel.
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