Category Archives: littoral

52 Blue Water Days on a 154 footer (with more to follow)

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The USCGC Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126) returns to homeport at Coast Guard Base Honolulu, Sept. 8, 2026.  (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Mikaela McGee)

The crew of the 154-foot Sentinel (Webber) class Fast Response Cutter Joseph Gerczak (WPC-1126)  returned to Honolulu last week following a 52-day/7,500nm patrol in support of Coast Guard Oceania District’s Operation Blue Pacific.

That is a serious stint for a 150-footer.

From USCG PAO:

The Joseph Gerczak crew departed Coast Guard Base Honolulu in July and traveled more than 7,500 nautical miles, making port calls in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Fiji and American Samoa. Patrolling in support of Operation Blue Pacific, the cutter’s crew worked alongside Pacific Island partners to bolster maritime security and sovereignty, counter illicit maritime activities, and protect vital marine resources.

The Joseph Gerczak crew exercised partnerships with the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Fiji through bilateral maritime law enforcement agreements.

In total, the Joseph Gerczak crew and their Pacific partners conducted 29 bilateral maritime law enforcement boardings and eight high-seas boardings in support of Operation Island Chief, a coordinated effort to detect and combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Pacific.

Stacking FRCs deep in the Pac

Gerczak is one of three FRCs in Hawaii, with sisters USCGC Oliver Berry (WPC-1124) and William Hart (WPC-1134), all of which took part in RIMPAC last month in one way or another.

Four more FRCs are in Guam under the control of U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia: Myrtle Hazard (WPC-1139), Oliver Henry (WPC-1140), Frederick Hatch (WPC-1143), and Vincent Danz (WPC-1162).

A fifth FRC slated for Guam, USCGC Jeffrey Palazzo (WPC-1163), was commissioned on September 11th in New York City.

Named for a Coast Guard Reservist (after eight years of active service) who was an FDNY firefighter who died with Staten Island’s Rescue Company 5 on September 11th, the ceremony was sincere.

Incidentally, Palazzo is the 63rd FRC in Coast Guard service. She will be the 14th stationed in the Central and Western Pacific between the Guam- and Hawaii-based cutters and the six of the newly formed Expeditionary Cutter Squadron (formerly the Bahrain-based PATFORSWA), which will be based on a rotational basis in the Philippines and points west.

Of note, the PI just picked up two surplus 87-foot Marine Protector-class WPBs from the USCG as well.

Meanwhile, at least two ECS FRCs, USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC 1145) and Charles Moulthrope (WPC 1141), were recently in Indonesia to take part in Super Garuda Shield 2026.

There, the cutters hosted Joes of the 124th Division Signal Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, for the installation of gee-whiz Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) stations– which is very interesting.

The French Brown Water Geese of Indochina

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Following up on Tuesday’s post on USCG Grumman (G-38) JRF-5G Goose amphibians, what’s the rest of the story of the type’s journey in Indochina?

Twelve ex-USN JRF-5s were sold to France in 1952 and delivered to Escadrille 8.S, based at Cat-Lai (later a major Brown Water Navy base) near Saigon (Indochina).

Viet Minh War, 1954, a French Grumman Goose (JRF-5) aids the gunboats patrolling the inland waters of Indo-China. NH 79370

They were mainly used for medevac, transport, and liaison, but in a pinch were equipped with bombs and gun pods to operate in coastal and riverine interdiction.

Five additional ex-USN JRF-5s were delivered in 1954 and fielded at Tan Son Nhut, still under E 8.S.

JRF-5 Goose French Navy Aéronautique navale l’Escadrille 8.S Indochina

Once the French withdrew, four still-flyable JRF-5s were sent to the South Pacific colony of New Caledonia, while the rest were shipped to African colonies.

Goose dets endured at Alger-Maison Blanche (Algeria), where E 8.S was relocated, as well as with 27F in Senegal, flying from Ouakam and Dakar Bel-Air until 1961, when they were finally withdrawn after a Goose making a connection between Dakar and Simti crashed on take-off and caught fire at Tambacounda, Senegal, where it had stopped over, killing six, including two crew, VADM Pierre Ponchardier and his wife, and another married couple. Ponchardier was the famed founder of the French SAS B Commando in 1945 and Dinassaut 8, both of which went on to lots of sneaky para and frogmen things in Indochina.

JRF-5 Goose, French Navy 27 Flotte, F-12, in Dakar, late 1950s. This is USN BuNo 34078, which flew with Escadrille 8S as 8S-7, and was lost with Ponchardier and five others on 27 Jan 1961.

JRF-5 Goose French Navy Aéronavale l’Escadrille 8.S in Algeria late 1950s

JRF-5 Goose, French Navy, Aéronautique navale Dakar 1960

These 12 ex-USN aircraft are confirmed to Aéronautique Navale Escadrille 8S, Indochina:
  • BuNo 04349 (French 8S-3, w/o Sep 24, 1953. SOC Spr 21, 1954)
  • BuNo 04358 (8S-1, WFU Dec 5, 1961)
  • BuNo 34078 (8S-7, later 27F-12 out of Dakar, lost 27 Jan 1961)
  • BuNo 37784 (8S-2, WFU May 24, 1960 at St Mandrier, France
  • BuNo 37791 (8S-4, later N75333, crashed Oct 9, 1974, after takeoff from Wichita, Kansas
  • BuNo 37831 (the second 8S-8; w/o Oct 4, 1956 at Cape Tenes, Algeria)
  • BuNo 84799 (8S-5, WFU Dec 5, 1961)
  • BuNo 84818 (8S-11, w/o Apr 25, 1953 at Cat Lai)
  • BuNo 87727 (8S-8, w/o Apr 3, 1952 at Nha Trang)
  • BuNo 87738 (the second 8S-11, w/o Nov 7, 1958 at St Mandrier
  • BuNo 87741 (8S-9, WFU Aug 25, 1959)
  • BuNo 87742 (8S-10, WFU Dec 5, 1961)

Can we talk ESBs?

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The Navy just received the final ship in the six-hull Expeditionary Sea Base program, transferring in the delivery ceremony of the 106,664-ton (not a misprint) USNS (future USS) Hector A. Cafferata Jr. (ESB 8) last week.

No other fleet in the world has anything that even comes close, not to mention having a half-dozen of them…

Expeditionary Sea Base USNS Hector A. Cafferata Jr. (ESB 8)

A peek into the hangar opening at the front of the huge topside aviation deck. You can store (at least) four CH-53s in there.

That metacentric height, tho…

While big deck commissioned (USS) ‘phibs like LHDs/LHAs, and LPDs get all the attention, the ESB, basically a converted Alaska-class oil tanker, has largely slid under the radar, and it should get more love.

Initially called the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) and the MLP Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB), over the past decade, five other huge sister ESBs have been delivered: USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3), USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4), USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5), USS John L. Canley (ESB 6), and USNS (future USS) Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7).

Commanded by a Navy O-6 with a permanently embarked 250-member military crew and accommodations for up to another 298 transient personnel, these gigantic NASSCO-built platforms run as big as an aircraft carrier and can rightfully be considered a large LPH with a four-spot flight deck for MV-22s/CH-53s, a mission deck, a hangar, an ordnance storage magazine, and underway replenishment facilities.

They are designed around four core capabilities: aviation facilities, berthing, equipment staging support, and command and control assets. The ship is perfect for missions such as counter-piracy, maritime security, airborne minesweeping, and humanitarian and disaster relief, all with an emphasis on rotor-wing aircraft.

I mean, look at this 52,000-square-foot flight deck. For reference, it is the third-largest in the Navy’s inventory, just behind LHA/LHDs and CVNs. The giant hangar is forward towards the bow, so no elevators are needed. But you can imagine that deck as a great base for UAVs.

The Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4) sails in the Atlantic Ocean, Oct. 17, 2020. Photo by: Sgt. Megan Roses | VIRIN: 201017-M-JH926-303

Plus, underneath the flight deck, the ESBs have a 25,000-square-foot mission deck used for storing heavy equipment, vehicle staging, and small boats.

Yes, they are slow (just 15 knots, max), but the Navy has mitigated that low speed by forward-deploying these ships overseas (ESB 3 is in CENTCOM, ESB 4 is at FDNF Souda Bay, ESB 5 and ESB 6 are at FDNF Saipan, etc.).

However, they are criminally under-armed with just 12 .50 cal stations, but are supposed to be used in low-threat situations and, in theory, could always be escorted by a DDG or two when not.

They should probably at least get a proper weapon fit more akin to an LHA/CVN (two RAM launchers, two CIWS, two Sea Sparrow launchers, four Mk 38s/Mk 46s plus the sensors and fire control to use them as well as soft kills such as Nukla, SLQ-32B, etc.) for which they have the space to spare for sure but will add a bit of cost and require some more rates to keep running.

Hell, maybe they should get some VLS cells for quad-packed ESSMs (the San Antonio-class LPDs were designed for such a thing but not fitted with them), or strike-length TLAMs.

Now that could get very interesting.

File under ‘No Suprise’ : Navy Shore Based Harpoon System Successful

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It shouldn’t be that much of a surprise, as Harpoon entered service in 1977– yes, almost 50 years ago– but the new Harpoon Coastal Defense System (HCDS) was validated at its Developmental Test (DT-1) at Point Mugu Sea Range (PMSR) in July 2026, “validating the system’s ability to engage and neutralize maritime threats.”

Boeing Photo via DVIDS 260721-O-HP119-5272

During the event, the Harpoon missile successfully launched from land and engaged the target vessel in near-shore/littoral waters.

It is planned to ship these to Taiwan, which has a $2.3B program to field 100 HCDS launchers and 400 missiles– a pretty good way to keep the local littoral their local littoral.

It should also be noted that the background concept has been extensively validated over the years, with the Royal Danish Navy fielding two 8-missile batteries of Scania 113M/320 truck-mounted quad-packed Harpoons from 1988 to 2003.

The Danish Harpoon setup. Marinens Biblioteks digitale arkiv MAB-16884

Plus, Ukraine received 20 Harpoons in 2022 from donations by Denmark, the Netherlands, the U.S., UK, and Spain for use in ground-based launchers, though little has been seen of them. Like, literally. The Ukrainians conceal them inside cargo containers to avoid the drone ka-boom.

The Danes also loved to heavily camouflage their Harpoons, so you can be sure the Taiwanese will be sure to do the same.

But, why?

So why bother with a land-based trailerable Harpoon when the Marines already have the smaller Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction Systems (NMESIS) ground-based system which carries two Kongsberg Naval Strike Missiles?

A Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System launcher deploys into position aboard Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, Hawaii, Aug. 16, 2021.  (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Maj. Nick Mannweiler, released)

Well, throw weight for one. While the 13-foot/800-pound NSM is a newer and more streamlined missile, it only has a 264-pound warhead, while the 15-foot/1,500-pound Harpoon totes 500 pounds of boom and delivers it with more kinetic energy by virtue of mass and speed.

Yes, NSM has a longer published range of 100nm while the RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II has a published range of 75nm, but keep in mind those are public figures.

Of course, the 8-ton NMESIS with its two missiles is CH-53E/K (hoist) or C-130 (internal) aircraft compatible and built to operate in much more austere environments, ready to pop off an LCU, LSM, or LCAC onto a beach while the HCDS, based on the same HEMTT trailer as the Army’s THAAD, is more of a C-17/industrial-grade roadway kinda thing, as its weight is likely closer to 35 tons.

While HCDS is set to deliver to Taiwan to complement indigenous HF-2 and HF-3 anti-ship launchers, it might not be a bad idea for the USN to invest in a few batteries of these, for a just-in-case type of scenario. Put them in the reserves with two Marine Reserve Artillery Battalions, one staged on the East Coast, the other on the West.

Speaking of Marines and Harpoons, since you came this far, how about these great very recent shots of VMFA-232 “Red Devils” F-18C/Ds out of MCAS Iwakuni conducting an anti-ship exercise, complete with two AGM-84s under the wings along with a pair each of Sidewinders and AMRAAMS for emergency use.

Nice to see the classics.

A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornet aircraft assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 232, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, lands on Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan, during a harpoon exercise, Aug. 19, 2026. VMFA-232 stands ready to integrate and seize the strategic advantage to ensure stability in the region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Alejandra Vega)

A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 232, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, flies off the coast of Japan, Aug, 19, 2026. U.S. Marines with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 conduct aerial refueling operations in support of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, demonstrating the Marine Corps’ ability to sustain and generate combat airpower. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. David Getz)

Retro-Vintage Style Recruiting Posters Show off USCG’s New Tactical Jet Ski Program

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Check out these great new recruiting posters for the USCG, which show off current programs (MSRT, Blackfin MH-65Es with HITRON, etc.) in an early 1980s throwback style.

The last features a great image by Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Robertson of Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Ilima Maiava, an aviation survival technician assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point in Kapolei, Hawaii, during training with a Barbers Point MH-65 Dolphin June 3, 2026. The station uses rescue watercraft to assist in rescue swimmer training by providing safety watch, mitigating the use of two helicopters.

It also serves as a good Segway to the new…

USCG Tactical Personal Watercraft (PWC) Program

Earlier this year, the Coast Guard stood up a program to train maritime LE folks on high-speed watercraft to intercept human smugglers and deter unlawful migration in shallow surf zones and restrictive environments where traditional pursuit boats cannot safely go.

Based in San Diego, the program excels in using jetskis to conduct shallow water pursuits in tight spaces, narrow channels, and shallow surf zones. The training is part of the Office of Rapid Response and Prototyping (CG-RAPTOR) Coast Guard program, which identifies, tests, and deploys new technologies, including tactical personal watercraft.

Coast Guard members conduct personal watercraft interdiction training at Coronado Beach, California, Jan. 15, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Roberto Nieves)

They are using what looks to be all-black Yamaha FX Series WaveRunners with P2P Rescue attachments while the livery includes USCG ensign flashes and white stencils, but no racing stripes.

U.S. Coast Guard personnel demonstrate the use of jet skis during a training exercise in San Diego, California, Feb. 11, 2026. The training highlights the service’s implementation of new watercraft assets to enhance rapid response, interdiction, and maritime safety operations. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by PA2 Carmen Caver)

And yes, they use Nods and blue/green lights.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Austin Ladner, a maritime enforcement specialist, maneuvers his personal watercraft during night operations training near San Diego on May 8, 2026. Ladner was one of the first qualified Coast Guard PWC operators and instructors; he initially trained with qualified U.S. Border Patrol personnel. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gabriel Wisdom)

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Dugan, a maritime enforcement specialist, instructs his class of unqualified PWC operators during night operations training near San Diego on May 7, 2026. Dugan was one of the first qualified Coast Guard PWC operators and instructors; he initially trained with qualified U.S. Border Patrol personnel. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gabriel Wisdom)

They can work directly alongside tactical pursuit boat crews as a combined unit and perform physically demanding interventions in dark, turbulent surf to stop smugglers from abandoning migrants in dangerous waters.

U.S. Coast Guard personal watercraft operators follow behind a Coast Guard boatcrew near Point Loma in San Diego on May 8, 2026. The unqualified PWC operators followed behind a boatcrew as part of a force package before simulating a pursuit by chasing their qualified instructors at high speeds. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gabriel Wisdom)

Note the very sharp USCG insignia on the front cowling of the above image in the below inset:

260508-G-JO805-6513

The force was seen in New York Harbor during the recent Sail250 evolution as well.

Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Dorian Casey, assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard National Motor Lifeboat School in Ilwaco, Washington, operates a Coast Guard personal watercraft near the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) in New York Harbor during Sail 250, July 5, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Perry Shirzad)

You gotta admit, it sells itself as far as recruiting goes.

Going Fast

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Some 52 years ago this month, a high speed formation off the coast of southern California. August 1974.

We see the front runner, the Interdiction Craft Experimental (CPIC-X), in the center, flanked closely by the experimental hydrofoil USS Flagstaff (PGH-1) at the top and the Osprey class PTF (Fast Patrol Boat) 24 at the bottom.

NHHC Catalog #: K-104584

For reference, CPIC-X was a 100-foot high-performance turbine powered prototype combatant built in 1974 by Tacoma Boatbuilding Company and used as a test bed for the Emerlec 30mm mount among other installations. She was loaned to the ROK Navy for a few years then returned.

The Grumman-built Rolls Royce turbine-powered 73-foot Flagstaff entered service in 1968, was loaned to the USCG from November 1974 to March 1977, then returned with a blown engine and abandoned, fading into history around 1999.

The 95-foot Osprey class PTF-24 was among the Navy’s last PT boats and was disposed of in the 1980s, although some of her sisters have been poking around in civilian hands.

FRCs Roaming from San Diego to Panama, to Manila

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Sentinel (Webber) class Fast Response Cutters USCGC Douglas Denman (WPC-1149 and Forrest Rednour (WPC-1129) transit in formation during a photo exercise off the coast of San Diego, July 23, 2026.  (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Chris Sappey)

The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Denman (WPC 1149) returned to her homeport at Coast Guard Base Ketchikan on Saturday, following a 41-day patrol in the Eastern Pacific. Douglas Denman conducted 42 investigative boardings and queries in support of Operation Border Trident along the sea frontier south of San Diego.

That’s a lot of time underway on a 154-foot boat.

Speaking of which, we have an update on the former PATFORSWA flotilla of six 154s that fell back from Bahrain through the Straits of Malacca and appeared in Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines since the war with Iran made their old base and mission in the Persian Gulf untenable.

It has been confirmed by U.S. Undersecretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby earlier this week in a speech during a forum organized by the Stratbase Group in Makati City, PI, that four of the former PATFORSWA boats, now designated the Expeditionary Cutter Squadron (ECS), will be in that Westpac archipelago on a rotational basis. I’d imagine the other two FRCs will be in yard/workup periods in Guam, co-located with the three 154s currently based there.

The USCG is falling back on its FRCs to fill in the gaps left by the stalled $20 billion frigate-sized Offshore Patrol Cutter. The 66th of 77 planned FRCs was delivered in June, bound to be the fourth 154 sent to Guam, set to join the family in a couple of months.

Meanwhile, another sister is roaming off the coast of Panama, winning hearts and minds.

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Robert Ward (WPC-1130) alongside Mexican, Ecuadorian, Colombian and Panamanian vessels conduct tactical signaling training during Panamax in the Pacific Ocean near Panama, Aug. 7, 2026. The exercise was designed to improve interoperability, sharpen skills, and demonstrate the ability to respond and deter threats to the region and its critical waterways. (Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class William Kirk)

KelTec Bullpup Shotguns: Holding the Maritime Line off Korea

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Florida-based KelTec announced last week that a major Pacific Rim maritime agency has once again selected the company’s tactical bullpup shotgun for use on patrol.

The South Korean Coast Guard has long used the well-reviewed (once you get used to it) KelTec KSG, with some 200 of the shotguns already in service, dating back to 2015. A new contract, signed in June, will continue that trend with the pump-action shotguns used across its patrol vessels.

The South Korean Coast Guard traces its lineage to 1953 during the Korean War and has some 10,000 personnel. Like the USCG, its Korean counterpart conducts law enforcement missions, polices the country’s maritime borders, and enforces fisheries regulations, among other tasks.

It has several large frigate-sized white-hulled cutters, including the 6,500-ton KCG Sam Bong and KCG Lee Cheong Ho, as well as numerous smaller patrol boats.

The Korean Coast Guard patrol vessel KCG Sam Bong (ARS 5001). She carries a forward 40mm Doosan DST “No Bong” twin DP Gun, a 20mm Sea Vulcan, six GPMGs, and a small arms locker– including KelTec KSGs. (Photo: KCG)

The KSGs are officially for non-lethal use, akin to how the Remington 870P is used for firing LA51 flash-bang warning devices in the USCG, but, you know, some slugs and buck are on the shelf just in case.

Per KelTec:

The KSG Tactical serves in a less-lethal role, firing rubber and impact rounds during maritime interdiction operations, including efforts to deter illegal fishing activity in Korean waters.

The South Korean Coast Guard also has several special response units such as the SSAT (Sea Special Attack Team), and the KSG-12 has been seen with them as well as in the hands of the Black Berets of the South Korean Army’s 707th Special Missions Group, used as a breaching gun with the latter.

The KelTec KSG was officially unveiled at the SHOT Show in 2011 and has undergone several generational changes while the line has simultaneously expanded.

Rare German Light Schnellboot Discovered, 96m under the Ionian Sea

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While the big S-boots (E boats in Allied parlance) were a crown jewel of the Kriegsmarine during WWII (and with other countries well after), a class that sort of slipped through the historical cracks was the Leichte Schnellboote (LS) boats.

Designed to be carried by cruisers abroad and auxiliary cruisers (HSK), the LS boats were just 41 feet long and made of aluminum and composites. Light enough (11.5 tons) to be winched up and down via davits, they could make 38 knots on two Daimler-Benz MB 507 diesels, and carried a stinger of two rear-dropped 21-inch torpedoes and an MG151 15mm machine cannon.

“LS-Boat” Sideview and Ground Plan Version Torpedo-Boat – Picture from Fock: Schnellboote Bd. 2, via S-boot.net

Just 12 were built, with four (LS 3 to LS 6) intended to be fast stern-launched minelayers rather than TBs. Two of the latter, LS 5 and LS 6, were soon converted to sub chasers with JuMo 205 engines with side-launched depth charge equipment for use on the Black Sea but instead only got as far as Greece, where they worked as “V boat” fast transports moving troops around the coastline of the Aegean and Ionian Seas.

“LS 5” and “LS 6” in the Aegean Sea – Picture from Fock: Schnellboote Vol. 2 via S-boot.net

“LS 5” and “LS 6” in the Aegean Sea – Picture from Fock: Schnellboote Vol. 2 via S-boot.net

There, on 29 September 1943, LS 6 was hit by bombs dropped from a British fighter-bomber during an air raid on Igoumenitsa and sunk while being towed between Lefkada and Preveza for repairs. Two weeks later, her sister LS 5 was grounded off the island of Kos after a similar hit and was written off.

Five other LS boats were lost during the war, with the remainder either being scrapped or kept as trophies post-war. The French finished LS 13 through LS 18 in 1946 for their own use.

Now, the only relic of the design, the long-lost LS 6, has been discovered on the seabed off Preveza in western Greece by the AegeanTec diving team after years of historical research, archival investigations and technical diving expeditions.

And she doesn’t look half bad.

German Leichte Schnellboote LS 6 at Lefkada Island, Greece, where she has been since September 1943.

The Matchbox RC Boats of RIMPAC

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We’ve covered lots of RIMPAC 26 stuff, but some small players are easily missed.

We speak, of course, to the ever-growing array of unmanned surface vehicles present in the exercise.

First off, let’s give it up to the U.S. Navy Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC) USVs from USVDIV (Unmanned Surface Vessel Division) 32, which took part in the SINKEX of ex-USS Peleliu (LHA 5).

A released Navy video shows two of the boats circling the battered hulk of the 40,000-ton ‘phib– and the old Peleliu soaked up the damage for sure– before they closed in to mimic a Japanese Shinyo suicide speedboat of 1944; only the remote operators got to live.

The Black Sea Tech GARC runs 15.8 feet, can make 40 knots in a sprint, and carry a half-ton payload. Keep in mind the small boat used in the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole is believed to have carried only between 400 and 700 pounds of C-4 plastic explosives; it created a 40×40-foot hole in the DDG that nearly sent her to the bottom.

Of note, USVDIV 32 GARCs performed swarm exercises with USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) during Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2026 last month.

Besides the GARCs, a “digitally controlled surface vessel” (DCSV) launched from Sand Island, near Honolulu, delivered equipment for a 3D printer aboard Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2), completing what organizers describe as the “Department of the Navy’s first digitally-crewed surface vessel resupply of a Navy ship.”

Following the delivery, the DCSV continued its mission by transporting drone components to the 25th Infantry Division’s Lightning Lab, where Marines and Soldiers assembled the systems before deploying them for testing at Makua Range. From manufacturing and maritime delivery to assembly and operational employment, the end-to-end process was completed in less than 24 hours.

Not sure exactly what this thing is, but it has a very low-profile vessel (LPV) narco-sub flavor.

There was also a Splash Industries Typhoon used in the Essex delivery mission.

The sizzle reel of the DCSV headed to Essex:

Keep in mind that the Navy is getting real-time combat feedback from their USV fleet as well, with at least three Saronic Corsair USVs laden with explosive packages used against an Iranian submarine at the port of Bandar Abbas earlier this month.

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