The Unmanned Task Force Moves South​

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Navy’s latest unmanned systems effort will further develop systems and concepts experimented with in the 5^th Fleet, Persian Gulf-centered Task Force 59 over the last 18 months. As announced by Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro at Sea-Air-Space 2023, unmanned systems operated from surface ships and shore locations in U.S. SOUTHCOM, Fourth Fleet’s area of operations, will further develop surveillance operations to maximize the employment of crewed assets in drug interdiction missions. Operations with Fourth Fleet have the potential to further develop Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) as unmanned vehicle motherships thanks to the large mission bays and stern gates that support the deployment and recovery of small surface craft. In geographic areas with few crewed assets and many operational challenges, the widespread employment of a Fourth Fleet Unmanned unit effort could be a significant force multiplier against drug and people smuggling enterprises in the SOUTHCOM AOR.

Building on the Efforts of Task Force 59

Task Force 59 in the Fifth Fleet AOR spent 18 months developing a comprehensive operating picture of the surface of the Persian Gulf region with a goal of a 100-unit, multinational group of unmanned systems in the summer of 2023. Given the recent decommissioning of the aging, crewed U.S. Navy patrol ships of the Cyclone class that previously did much of this work, the rapid deployment of the TF-59 concept was essential to the maintenance of a clear vision of what was happening on the surface of the Persian Gulf.

The Fourth Fleet area of operations within SOUTHCOM has always demanded more surveillance assets then were readily available going back to the 1990s and the establishment of Joint Interagency Task Forces South and East in 1994. The decreasing number of crewed U.S. warships from 529 in 1991 to less than 290 in the present has made fewer such vessels available for tasking in those missions. The decommissioning of the entire cohort of U.S. Navy frigates over the same period, notably the Oliver Hazard Perry class ships often employed in drug interdiction deployments has further reduced the overall inventory of ships available for this mission. Networks of unmanned units operating astride maritime drug supply routes across the SOUTHCOM AOR will ensure more optimal use of crewed units of all types in locating, tracking, and interrupting the flow of drugs into the United States.

Unmanned units could also be essential in tracking Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing across the Caribbean, and the Atlantic and Pacific littorals of South America. IUU fishing is often practiced by large, Chinese factory fishing ships, and destroys the ability of local fishing industries to supply national needs. As with illegal narcotics, unmanned systems can cover wide spaces to identify IUU fishing operations and help vector coast guards and other regional forces to stop this destructive activity before it depletes fish stocks.

Expanded Use of the Littoral Combat Ship Class

Both variants of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) have struggled to find meaningful employment amid challenges with their engineering plants and abortive mission modules. LCS vessels have large mission bays, ample rotary wing aviation facilities and stern gates that support the launch and recovery of unmanned surface vessels, such as have been employed by Task Force 59 in the Persian Gulf. LCS has long been considered as the ideal “mothership” for unmanned surface units using these capabilities. While not long-ranged at high speeds, LCS at lower speeds on just diesel engines in the case of LCS 1 variants or as little as one of two waterjets on the LCS 2 variant can rotate on station serving a network of unmanned surface vessels. Crewed and uncrewed rotary wing aviation assets based on LCS can provide further surveillance in support of surface unmanned units. The unmanned mothership role seems ideal for LCS and may finally offer the class a path toward essential purpose in the fleet.

Conclusion

Unmanned force development is occurring rapidly in both the peacetime experimentation space as evidenced by Task Force 59 but also in the theater of war as Ukrainian and Russian drone vehicles continue to expand combat use. It is imperative that the Navy seize the opportunity to exercise a wide-area unmanned systems force in the SOUTHCOM AOR. Employment as a surveillance and cueing tool in the interdiction of narcotics as well as development of dedicated motherships for unmanned operations will boost Navy unmanned system operations so that they can assume potential combat roles in other theaters in support of crewed platforms. SOUTHCOM/Fourth Fleet unmanned operations is another step toward the full employment of unmanned systems as the loyal wingmen of the fleet in peace and war.

Dr. Steven Wills is the Navalist at the Center for Maritime Strategy. His research and analysis centers on U.S. Navy strategy and policy, surface warfare programs and platforms, and military history.

The views expressed in this piece are the sole opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Maritime Strategy or other institutions listed.