New Form of Warfare: US $240,000 Unmanned Surface Vessel in Philippine Waters Shadows over $517 Million Chinese Destroyer

California-based small drone manufacturer Seasats announced that one of its unmanned surface vessels photographed a Chinese Type 052D guided-missile destroyer in the waters off Luzon, Philippines, on June 16. This further highlights the changing nature of warfare, where a small $240,000 (about MYR 980,000) unmanned vessel can approach a large $517 million (about RMB 3.5 billion or MYR 2.114 billion) warship, potentially even posing a threat to it.

Seasats, founded six years ago, announced that its "Lightfish" unmanned vessel had successfully completed its first autonomous mission across the Taiwan Strait, and had tracked and photographed Chinese warships, including a Type 056 corvette of the People's Liberation Army Navy.

Seasats is actively cooperating with Taiwan and allied militaries in the Indo-Pacific region to deploy and expand persistent maritime surveillance capabilities.

Seasats stated that this is the first time a U.S. private company has photographed such images. CEO Flanigan said: “We have the ability to enter the sea, capture close-range images of Chinese warships, and record all relevant data.”

The "Lightfish" unmanned surface vessel (USV) is the smallest USV in the Seasats product line, able to be handled and operated by just one to two people. It can be launched from the back of a pickup truck, a small boat, or a slipway, and can be deployed and recovered within minutes.

It has carried various types of equipment, including electro-optical and infrared cameras, signals intelligence and electronic warfare devices, as well as active and passive sonar systems.

Each unmanned vessel uses a hybrid power system, can last for up to six months on a single mission, and is capable of operating at sea in wave heights of up to six meters.

Seasats has currently raised over $40 million (about MYR 163.48 million) and has recently secured U.S. government contracts totaling over $100 million (about MYR 409 million).