USS Laboon battled missiles and unmanned systems during Red Sea operations. (Janes/Michael Fabey)
Noting concerns over the costs of defeating recent unmanned attacks such as those employed in the US Navy (USN) in the Red Sea with traditional shipboard weapons, the USN has been testing counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs), according to Vice Admiral Brendan McLane, commander of Naval Surface Forces.
“On the topic of the cost curve, in collaboration with our teammates at Integrated Warfare Systems and the Rapid Capabilities Office, our destroyers have tested several new C-UAS systems, each bringing unique tactical capabilities to the fight,” Vice Adm McLane said on 14 January during his status of the force address at the Surface Navy Association National Symposium 2025.
For more information on the costs of Red Sea operations, please see Feature: US Navy weighs cost-effectiveness of Red Sea naval combat operations .
“Through an accelerated capability introduction process, to include onboard testing and training alongside development of enhanced tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), I expect several of these systems to be deployed soon,” Vice Adm McLane said.
“As technical maturity increases, I'm confident we'll have even more cost-effective systems available in the counter-unmanned systems fight across the entire force,” he noted.
The navy has had 26 ships so far operate in the Red Sea “weapons engagement zone”, he said.
“We've rapidly learned a tremendous amount, allowing us to better prepare the next deploying warships like the ones in [the] Nimitz Carrier Strike Group starting COMPTUEX [Composite Training Unit Exercise] next week,” he said.
He cited the experience of guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64), which was deployed for 235 days. “The ship was in 55 engagements and fired 71 missiles.”
For Carney
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