Why US attack on Iran's submarine repair facility could change naval warfare forever

A US unmanned surface vehicle attacks an Iranian dock in Bandar Abbas. (Image credit: US Central Command) When drones first went on the offensive over the skies of Ukraine, they were thought of as a poor nation's weapon against a much larger and powerful enemy. The iconography was that of a feeble David taking on Goliath, a cheap shoulder fired rocket zip-tied to an off the shelf drone, standing in for a much expensive anti-tank guided missile. In the current conflict in West Asia, it is Iran that is launching drones at its neighbours, one aspect of this news is again that of cheap drones passing through expensive air defence systems, which till recently were boasting of the impressive numbers on their specification sheets. At the same time, unmanned systems are growing leaps and bounds in capability and autonomy, especially now with a booster shot of Artificial Intelligence. These systems are increasingly becoming more complex and importantly, as nations are moving towards non-contact warfare - a modern paradigm where a nation leverages technology and integrated power to neutralise, paralyse, or disrupt an adversary's capabilities from a distance, minimising or entirely eliminating physical engagement between opposing ground forces, basically the avoidance of large scale force on force combat that warfare has traditionally been seen as. Operation Sindoor is a very good example of non-contact warfare, as India used standoff weapons to punch holes in Pakistani air defences and then to neutralise air bases. Astra To BrahMos: Indonesia Chooses India's Deadly Missiles To Counter China, Reshape Indo-Pacific The United States has attacked the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas with three Corsair Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs). This is the first time that the Americans have used these vessels in an offensive role. The USVs struck a key naval ship and submarine repair facility in the port. In the video released by US Central Command, which is conducting operations against Iran, a small submersible seems to be atop the repair facility. Ironically, it is Iran which is now for using small boats and drones as implement of force. The region has a history of using kamikaze USVs, with Iran's proxy the Houthis using these systems against commercial shipping. Iran too is reported to be in procession of Kamikaze USVs. Like in the case of most unmanned systems, the Ukrainians too have used these systems extensively in the Black Sea. Ukrainian USVs have sunk many Russian ships and Ukrainian media has also reported the shooting down of a Russian fighter aircraft using these craft. The Corsair, which means pirate or privateer, is built by US based Saronic Industries based in Austin Texas. The Corsair, a remotely operated vehicle, has a range of a little over 1,800 km and a top speed of 65 kmph. This vessel can carry a payload of as much as 450 kg. US based website, The War Zone, claims that this is the same type of unmanned vessel that rescued the two crew members of the US Army's Ah-64 Apache helicopter that were forced to ditch their stricken aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz in June. Saronic industries was co-founded by an Indian origin man named Vibhav Altekar. Saronic makes other larger cargo USVs such as the Mirage and the Marauder. On the same day as this novel attack, similar to the ones carried out by Ukrainians in the past. The Ukrainians carried out a novel attack using autonomous systems against Russia. In this situation, the Ukrainians used an unmanned water craft to unload an unmanned ground vehicle on to beach, this exercise was guided by an unmanned aerial system. Once on the ground, the machine gun armed unmanned ground vehicle carried out an attack on an Russian position in yet another example of non-contact warfare and how unmanned and autonomous systems are changing the face of modern conflict.