Iranians try feeling up Navy drone
Interesting situation: The Iranians were spotted taking a Navy drone (floating, not flying) under tow.
U.S. Navy patrol coastal ship Thunderbolt, along with MH-60S Sea Hawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26, responded to the incident and the Iranian vessel released the unmanned vessel and vacated the premises roughly four hours later, on Aug. 30.
The 5th Fleet, which is fielding several unmanned systems with artificial intelligence as part of Task Force 59, started testing the Saildrone Explorer USV in December. The drone relies on sunlight for power and uses its sensors and cameras for navigation and data collection.
Now, I won’t dwell on what kind of murderous thieving degenerates the Iranian government may consist of. I can see why they would be really interested in what our capabilities are, and a little midnight requisition is a hallowed military tradition in ANY service (as long as you don’t get caught, of course.) And I can see how the Navy might be a tad torqued about someone making off with one of their new toys, too. I am happy that they manage to settle it like grown-ups and avoided starting anything silly, too.
I also remember that the definition of an abandoned vessel is “one with no crew board”. Intellectually, if it’s under our active control, it’s obviously not totally abandoned. But, being unmanned, doesn’t it also meet the classic international definition of available salvage? Seems like maritime law may need a little amendment in that regard.
Category: Breaking News, Iran, Navy
Maybe such “vessels without persons aboard” should be equipped with a suitable amount of C4/TNT/Composition B that could be detonated should any other navy decide to bring the vessel into an “up close and personal” relationship with their ships, without the effective consent of the United State Navy.
Turn it into a command detonated floating claymore.
Larry Lightbulb over at NAVSEA got bitten by the Good Idea fairy and came up with unmanned boats.
WTF did they think would happen?
Larry Lightbulb is a retired one star on a fat GS-15 salary.
Now, begone you little peon you!
Larry has more LCS’s to push out that will also be decommissioned in less than 12 years of service.
Larry is an SES who never served a day in uniform and thinks humans are an unfortunate operational necessity. His contractor yes-man is John Dickenballs, ADM USN (Ret.) recently from the LCS Desk.
I don’t have to make a lot of this up.
“WTF did they think would happen?”
Amen.
You’d think that with all the oblowme $ the iranians had, they could afford to build their own floating drone. Still wrapping my head around why a religion the supposedly preaches peace is always screaming about death to…well…everybody.
Not sure why Big Navy needs to leave an orphaned new toy floating around in International Waters, unmanned (crewed?) but can understand why the MIC has convinced them they need one of these…or more. After all, the former flags need to justify their phoney baloney jobs. If Navy loses these toys like they lose control of oblong shaped, air filled pigskin toys, we’re gonna be in trouble.
I’d fight bears for you.
Why couldn’t those drones have a stash of C4 and Willy Pete on them for in case some third world fleabags try to swipe one?
Would have made a nice trojan horse.
Outfit it with all kinds of fake shit.
“Go away! Leave me alone! Or I “keel” you!”
A solar-powered UAV? What a great idea. Now, if it would only stay sunny all the time.
Does anyone really think that we would not (or have not) do the same? I sure as hell would.