U.S. Military Deploys Unmanned Surface Vessels for Combat: From Rescue to Attack

The U.S. military is drawing attention for the first-ever combat deployment of unmanned surface vessels during its war with Iran.

U.S. Central Command announced on July 13 (local time) that it had deployed a suicide unmanned surface vessel in an operation for the first time in the history of U.S. combat.

In a video released by Central Command on X (formerly Twitter), the unmanned vessel is seen approaching the Iranian naval base in Bandar Abbas at high speed and accurately striking submarine and ship maintenance facilities.

The unmanned vessel used in this attack is the 'Corsair' from the U.S. defense company 'Saronic'.

The 'Corsair' is a small unmanned vessel approximately 7.3 meters in length, capable of carrying a payload of up to 453 kilograms and traveling over 1,600 kilometers.

The manufacturer, 'Saronic', is a defense firm founded in 2022 by Dino Mavroukas, who served for over 10 years in the U.S. Navy SEALs, along with his colleagues.

The company's current valuation stands at 9.25 billion dollars (approximately 14 trillion won).

The 'Corsair' also proved its capabilities in personnel rescue by recovering two crew members of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter that was shot down by Iranian forces in the Gulf of Oman on July 9.

U.S. media outlets highlighted the operation as the first instance of an unmanned surface vessel performing a search and rescue mission to save lives.

The combat deployment of these unmanned surface vessels, which are active in various fields such as combat and rescue, is being evaluated as a decisive moment that proves the value of drone technology on the battlefield.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Defense is accelerating the introduction of large-scale unmanned systems to significantly expand the scope of unmanned technology utilization beyond the war with Iran.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.