Pentagon weighs adding up to 50 autonomous drone boats on Rio Grande and Gulf of Mexico

MixedThe Pentagon may expand its use of autonomous surveillance boats on the Rio Grande and in the Gulf of Mexico, a US official said, after a pilot programme that began in January helped detect and deter illegal border crossings and narcotics trafficking. 1 2 MixedThe unmanned surface vessels are built by San Diego startup Seasats and patrol the river for long periods without crews; Saronic, Saildrone and Splash make similar marine drones. 1 2 MixedDefence officials want to increase the fleet from its current test group of 10 vessels by as many as 50, to relieve strain on Coast Guard cutters and crewed aircraft patrolling the border with Mexico under President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. 1 2

MixedSeasats' Lightfish is 11 feet long, weighs 340 pounds, costs roughly $240,000, can be launched from a boat ramp or a pickup truck, and can operate for months in rough seas; it is solar-powered. 1 2 MixedElectro-optical, infrared and sonar sensors feed real-time tracking data into military software networks, including Palantir's Maven Smart System and Anduril's Fortress platform, alerting Customs and Border Protection and Coast Guard units. 1 2 MixedThe Pentagon said that in an average month the Lightfish drones assisted in 452 detections, 350 apprehensions and 100 turnbacks, meaning groups that abandon a crossing after realising they have been discovered. 1 2

MixedM. Roosevelt Ditlevson, assistant secretary of defense for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs, called maritime drones "cost-effective solutions to interdict and put people in these areas that narco traffickers are now moving towards" and said he is "agnostic to the vendor". 1 2 MixedDitlevson said that with continued success Lightfish orders could rise by 50 boats and the vessels could operate in the Gulf of Mexico, forming a radar fence between Texas and Key West, but that expansion will come in increments while different technologies are explored. 1 2 RightSeasats chief executive Mike Flanigan said uncrewed boats give persistent coverage that fuel-heavy planes and ships cannot, staying on station for months though covering less territory quickly. 1

MixedSeasats drew attention in July when Reuters reported a commercial Lightfish in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone got close enough to a Chinese navy guided-missile destroyer to film it; the expanded Gulf use is described as a precursor to tests in the rougher Pacific near San Diego. 1 2