US Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet launches drone task force amid tensions with Iran

The US Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet will launch a new task force that incorporates airborne, sailing and underwater drones. The decision comes after maritime attacks linked to ongoing tensions with Iran. Although the Naval officials have not shared details about which systems they would introduce from their headquarters on the island nation of Bahrain but they have revealed that in few months, drones will enhance their capabilities, according to The Associated Press.

The US Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet has the crucial Strait of Hormuz and the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf. According to The Associated Press, about 20 per cent of oil passes through it. Speaking to The Associated Press, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads the 5th Fleet said, "We want to put more systems out in the maritime domain above, on and below the sea". Cooper added, "We want more eyes on what’s happening out there."

Drone task force 

According to United States Naval Institute News, the task force, led by Captain Michael Brasseur, will expand the operational use of unmanned platforms in the region and experiment with the concept of operations. The task force will help the Navy use unmanned platforms across all domains. Cooper has informed that the Fifth Fleet will use a large exercise known as IMX 22 in January and February to experiment with the unmanned systems. 

The 5th Fleet consists of shallow water areas, salty water and temperature during summer can be more than 45 degrees Celsius with high humidity and According to Cooper, the environment is suitable for them to "experiment and move faster", according to AP. Furthermore, Cooper informed that if the new systems can work here, they can probably work anywhere. The equipment utilised by the 5th Fleet's new Task Force 59 will be among those tested by the Navy's Pacific Fleet in April. Ultra-long-range aerial surveillance drones, surface ships like the Sea Hawk and the Sea Hunter, and tiny underwater drones that look like torpedoes were also utilised in the drill.

IMAGE: AP

Inputs from AP