US Central Command Commander Gen. Michael Corella announced at a conference in Bahrain on Saturday that the unmanned systems force in the Persian Gulf will deploy more than 100 unmanned ships in the waters of the strategic region by next year.
Kurella came after Israel and the United States accused Iran this week of what he described as a drone attack on an oil tanker owned by a company owned by an Israeli businessman transporting fuel from Oman.
The attack is the latest in a series of incidents in the oil-rich region amid escalating tensions between sworn rivals Washington and Tehran that have also sparked incidents between their navies.
“By this time next year, Force-59 will have deployed a fleet of more than 100 unmanned craft above and below the (marine) surface that will work and communicate together,” Kurella said at the annual Manama Dialogue conference.
Force-59 was launched in September 2021 in Bahrain, the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet, with the aim of integrating unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into operations in the Middle East after a series of drone attacks on ships blamed on Iran.
In addition to drones, the US is “developing a pilot program here in the Middle East to fight drones with our partners,” Curella said, without elaborating.
“As drone technology advances, the (development) of drones by our enemies may pose the biggest technological threat to regional security,” the US general added.