U.S. Sends Drone Ships to Western Pacific in First Deployment Near China
Story by Alastair Gale •
1h
YOKOSUKA, Japan—Two prototype U.S. drone ships have arrived in Japan for their first deployment in the western Pacific, testing surveillance and attack capabilities that the Navy might find useful against China’s larger fleet.
U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jeremiah Daley said unmanned surface vessels that operate autonomously could substitute for larger ships such as destroyers in groups hunting enemy targets. “For example, one destroyer and two USVs could replace three destroyers. It’s a force multiplier,” he said.
Daley spoke Thursday on board the unmanned surface vessel Ranger, a 190-foot-long ship originally designed for the oil industry that resembles a flatbed truck. It sat docked at the port of Yokosuka, near Tokyo, home to the U.S. Seventh Fleet.
While the Ranger doesn’t currently carry missiles, it can carry and launch missiles in modules loaded onto its flatbed rear section.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u-s-sends-drone-ships-to-western-pacific-in-first-deployment-near-china/ar-AA1h2F1A?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=66f6c0d4c684497d87dffd9afbc856fc&ei=15
