Photos Show US Sea Drone's Encounter With Chinese Aircraft Carrier Group
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A United States autonomous surface vessel encountered a Chinese aircraft carrier group in June during its transit from California to Japan, the drone's operator told Newsweek.
The unmanned vessel known as Lightfish traveled more than 7,500 miles across the Pacific Ocean over 150 days, the San Diego-based company Seasats announced on July 30.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why It Matters
The value of unmanned systems in modern warfare has been demonstrated since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, during which Ukrainian forces have deployed maritime drones in the Black Sea against Russian targets, pushing Russia's fleet farther from Ukraine.
Recognizing the importance of drone warfare and the gap with major adversaries Russia and China in this field, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered an overhaul of the military's drone strategy, including accelerated modernization and expanded production.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Marine Corps announced that the deployment of an unmanned logistics vessel in Japan will be extended indefinitely to counter China's military buildup.
What To Know
The "unexpected encounter" between the Lightfish and the Chinese navy was first reported by news outlet Breaking Defense on Wednesday, citing Seasats chief executive Mike Flanigan. The incident took place in the Philippine Sea, approximately 330 miles northwest of Guam.
Seasats' Lightfish autonomous surface vessel sails near the Chinese destroyer CNS Nanchang, left, while transiting the Philippine Sea near Guam.
Seasats' Lightfish autonomous surface vessel sails near the Chinese destroyer CNS Nanchang, left, while transiting the Philippine Sea near Guam.
Seasats
In a set of photos provided by Seasats to Newsweek on Thursday, the American sea drone photographed a Chinese warship with the hull number "101," identifying it as China's first Type 055 destroyer, CNS Nanchang, regarded as the country's "premier surface combatant."
Seasats told Newsweek that the Chinese destroyer was part of a naval group led at the time by the country's aircraft carrier, CNS Liaoning. According to a Newsweek map, the Liaoning carrier strike group was deployed in the Philippine Sea from late May to mid-June.
The Japanese Defense Ministry also confirmed the Nanchang's presence in the Philippine Sea, tracking and reporting the warship's movements between late May and early June.
Flanigan told Breaking Defense that the Chinese destroyer shadowed the sea drone "very closely" for 20 minutes. The Lightfish, a 12-foot-long, 350-pound solar-powered vessel, departed from San Diego to mainland Japan via Hawaii and the Japanese island of Okinawa.
While a publicly accessible tracking page was available throughout the Lightfish's voyage, Seasats told Newsweek that it removed the data from the page at the time of the encounter and provided a report to the U.S. Navy, which distributed it within government circles.
Seasats' Lightfish autonomous surface vessel sails near the Chinese destroyer CNS Nanchang, right, while transiting in the Philippine Sea near Guam.
Seasats' Lightfish autonomous surface vessel sails near the Chinese destroyer CNS Nanchang, right, while transiting in the Philippine Sea near Guam.
Seasats
"The ability to capture high resolution imagery of potential adversaries, and in real time transmit accurate location data back to shore, is key for the U.S. Navy in the Pacific," it said.
"Doing that with a commercial [unmanned surface vessel] as compared to a traditional satellite or ship offers huge improvements in persistence, accuracy, cost, and scalability."
What People Are Saying
Seasats told Newsweek: "This encounter is also relevant given the recent budget allocation of billions of dollars to [unmanned surface vessels]. This speaks to the increasing presence of drones at sea and how they are shifting the balance of traditional naval power."
Seasats chief executive Mike Flanigan told Breaking Defense: "Look at what just happened with us in the middle of the Pacific. We have a $250,000 [unmanned surface vessel] coming within meters of a $900 million Chinese destroyer with close to 100 sailors on it...Their risk posture is just insanely skewed with these autonomous robots."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen how the U.S. military will expand the use of unmanned combat systems—whether in the air, on the ground, or at sea—in the Indo-Pacific amid China's threat.
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