Marines testing ‘narco sub’ for contested logistics in the Indo-Pacific
Leidos’ autonomous surface drone went from concept to prototype in nine months.
Meghann Myers | July 1, 2025
Back in 2022, the Marine Corps called up Leidos looking for a discrete, unmanned surface vessel that could transport thousands of pounds of supplies without being seen.
Nine months later, II Marine Expeditionary Force had Sea Specter in hand for testing as part of the Corps’ Autonomous Low-Profile Vessel program. At 65 feet long and with a profile from inches to just a couple feet above the water, it’s reminiscent of the self-propelled semi-submersible boats drug traffickers have used to cross oceans in recent years.
“I think that it's OK to say that those narco subs inspired the concept, but that's where the similarities end,” Jeff Bowles, chief engineering officer at Gibbs & Cox, a Leidos company, told Defense One. “Narco subs are dirty. They're dangerous. They're not engineered. But in principle, their mission is the same—move a large volume of cargo with the minimal chance of being observed by anyone else, right?”
In the Defense Department’s shift from counterinsurgency in the Middle East to near-peer conflict in the Indo-Pacific, the concern that enemies will be able to shoot down planes or blow up supply ships is very real.
https://www.defenseone.com/defense-systems/2025/07/marines-testing-narco-sub-contested-logistics-indo-pacific/406461/?oref=d1-skybox-hp
