The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines announced this week the transfer of the AUSVs worth 754 million pesos ($13 million) and produced by American firm Ocean Aero to the sea forces to enhance capabilities “to detect and respond to maritime challenges and illegal maritime activities.”

The transfer comes after the Armed Forces of the Philippines revealed that China discreetly deployed a 6×6 meter floating platform equipped with an antenna in late May at the southeastern portion of Scarborough Shoal, a fishing lagoon within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Philippine officials claim the platform was being used to illegally gather Philippine maritime data and could serve as a prelude for China’s island-building activities. Philippine officials lodged diplomatic protests, and China removed the structure last week.

Solar-powered Tritons are capable of autonomous navigation both on the surface and underwater and can support a diverse array of missions such as intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), anti-submarine warfare, maritime strike, and mine countermeasures.

The drones can be fitted with video cameras, thermal imaging and sonars, and may be deployed from shore, vessels, or aircraft. It can dive down to 100 meters and remain underwater for 10 days. It can also conduct surface patrols for up to 30 days.

In Ocean Aero’s headquarters in Gulfport, Mississippi, the AUSVs are mobilized to protect subsea cables from sabotage, and the company has pitched the AUSVs for U.S. Navy mine-clearing in the Strait of Hormuz.

Officials told Defense News the AUSVs were shown to the Navy during the recent iteration of Exercise Balikatan and are among a series of systems and platforms the U.S. had planned to transfer to the Philippines to boost military capabilities.

The Tritons will also boost existing efforts to monitor subsea cables and gas pipelines, officials said.

“The ability to monitor and respond to maritime challenges — illegal fishing, gray zone activities, and threats to freedom of navigation — requires persistent, long-endurance awareness that no single ship or aircraft can provide alone. The Triton fills that gap by expanding the capabilities of the Philippine Navy into critical waterways,” U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Bridgette Walker said in a statement.

The drones are included in the Philippines-U.S. Security Sector Assistance Roadmap, a multi-year agreement to ease the acquisition, transfer, and sharing of equipment like radars and unmanned systems to strengthen maritime surveillance.

Last December, the U.S. Senate earmarked $2.5 billion for Philippine military modernization to be disbursed from 2026 to 2030.

State procurement agency Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency has released notices for a demonstration schedule next month with the goal of fast-tracking acquisitions and expediting mass production and deployment.

The interceptor drone systems are expected to be installed by 2027 near radar sites, bases, vessels and other critical locations, the agency stated.

This follows an earlier notice released by the Ministry of Defense late last month for autonomous unmanned systems that could detect and counter swarms of “multiple long-range suicide UAVs … such as the Shahed-136.”

The envisioned craft should already be in use by other armed forces and have successfully shot down Shahed-like drones, according to the notice. In addition, they must be able to connect with existing radars and command-and-control systems, require two or fewer personnel for stand-off launch and flight management, and need minimal and simple maintenance.

The interceptor drones are recent additions to Japan’s massive UAV fleet plan. The ministry had been in talks with drone firm Terra Drone since the company fielded two types of interceptor drones in Ukraine through Kyiv-based startups.

In March, Terra Drone divulged investments in Amazing Drones to field Terra 1, a rocket-type interceptor, and two months later launched fixed-wing variant Terra 2 through Ukrainian defense tech firm WinnyLab.

The feedback is “very much positive,” company CEO Toru Tokushige told Defense News. He said there had been great interest in the interceptors, especially within the Japanese defense ministry.

Drone technology is quickly evolving in Ukraine, affirming the importance of interceptor drones as low-cost alternatives to interceptor missiles, Tokushige said.

Meanwhile, the conflict in the Middle East has shown the lethality of Shahed-like drones, which have been used more extensively than missiles.

The extended reach of the Shahed drones has also raised the stakes in East Asia. The aircraft flew as far as 1,100 miles from Tehran to Tel Aviv, and while battlefield circumstances and geography vary, the distance means such weapons launched in Northeast Asia could reach Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

“Originally my image of the defense industry is that it’s very much traditional, very much bureaucratic, very slow. But after visiting Ukraine, and also because of the war in the Middle East, everybody understands the value of drones and the value of investing in drones,” Tokushige said.

The Japanese government’s urgent call for proposals comes after reports that the U.S. military’s 38-day Iran campaign under Operation Epic Fury has strained missile stockpiles.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank warned of a “near-term risk” munitions shortage after the Iran campaign, which has already delayed U.S. supply contracts with European allies, raising worries that it could also push back Tomahawk deliveries for Japan.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi both denied the Tomahawk conundrum, but Koizumi said the ministry plans to develop more domestic missile systems. This comes on top of a recent production agreement under Operation Supercharge, which will see the U.S. and Japan jointly manufacture interceptor missiles such as the SM-6 and SM-3.

Japan’s defensive umbrella, set to be completed in 2027 after five years, includes fielding standoff capabilities, missile defense networks, and unmanned systems such as drones, ground vehicles, and submarines.

Budget allocated for unmanned defense capabilities alone leaped this year to 277 billion yen ($1.72 billion) from 111 billion yen ($690 million) in 2025.

And the government’s move to increase defense spending up to 3.5% of GDP will likely see more investments in unmanned systems. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on June 9 approved a proposal to produce some 80,000 drones annually by 2030, though allocations have not been finalized.

Governments in the region have been using counter-drone technologies for almost a decade for security, but the recent increase in unauthorized, cross-border UAV traffic and the daily examples of drone combat on display in Ukraine and the Middle East are prompting many Asian countries to step up development of their unmanned warfare capabilities.

South Korea’s military installed Liteye drone-detection systems, now made by High Point Aerotechnologies, in the demilitarized zone in 2019 to spot North Korean aerial intrusions, and this year launched a five-year program to establish a drone force capable of countering them. Taiwan plans to equip its armed forces with counter-drone tech for possible use against China.

“The worst kind of drone threat is one that you don’t detect,” according to Josh Chartier, vice president of business pursuits with Dallas-based High Point. “And so it’s imperative you have systems and processes in place to detect what’s flying in the space so you can make decisions based on policy and what to do to mitigate response.”

High Point, which opened an office in Singapore last month, is bringing counter-drone technologies to the region, Chief Revenue Officer Evan Hunt told C4ISRNET in an interview. Most “existed in secret” but have been in use by the U.S. government, he said.

“In this part of the region, it’s going to focus on civil aviation side, but as you get closer to China and those countries, it becomes more of a military threat and drones become an issue of sovereignty,” Hunt said.

While countries do not want to identify the systems they have, some governments have opened tenders seeking counter-drone systems to boost military surveillance, he said.

High Point displayed its Sawtooth Counter Unmanned Aircraft System at the Singapore Airshow. It’s a modular platform with long- and short-range radars, passive RF systems, and EO/IR cameras. The Sawtooth has been used by Singaporean authorities for years to “identify, track, detect and defeat nefarious drones,” Hunt said.

Russia’s use of kamikaze and surveillance drones against Ukraine and Houthi rebels flying bomb-carrying drones to attack Israel-bound ships in the Red Sea are driving demand for tech that can defend against them, according to the companies. Amid these threats, governments in Asia have a growing understanding of the negative impacts of drones and are moving rapidly to install radars and jammers, High Point’s Senior Director for International Pursuits Dirk Manley said.

“Electronic warfare has fundamentally changed the battlefield,” Chris Miller, chief revenue officer of High Point’s sister company Dzyne Technologies and a former acting U.S. secretary of defense, said during the Singapore Airshow last month. Miller pointed out that trillions of dollars worth of defense capabilities could be “annihilated by things you build in garages.”

TRD Systems

TRD Systems, a local company, unveiled its counter-drone gun at the Singapore Airshow. It’s among the technologies chosen by the Canadian government to send with its armed forces in Latvia, where threats include a mix of commercial and bespoke kamikaze drones, CEO Sam Ong said.

“No matter what drone they use, they will use satellites, and our drone gun can cover all of these systems and cut off their signal,” he said. “It’s not about how big or small drones are, as long as it depends on satellites, we can stop it.”

The company is providing counter-drone systems to all 11 countries in Southeast Asia. While Thailand is a major market, recent years saw an upsurge in sales from Vietnam and Cambodia, Ong said.

Last year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the deployment of troops and counter-drone systems on its northern border after reports of drone incursions allegedly flown by insurgents in Vietnam.

In Thailand, the Royal Thai Armed Forces mapped out early this year a series of joint training exercises with the Royal Thai Police focused on counter-drone technology and intelligence gathering.

The delivery comes amid clashes between the Philippines and China over contested territory in the South China Sea.

Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency announced the delivery Nov. 2 on social media, the same day Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addressed the Philippine Congress during a two-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation.

The new warning and control radar system, FPS-3ME, can detect multiple fighter jets and ballistic missiles. The FPS-3ME is an improved version of the J/FPS-3 radar, which has been used by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, according to manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric Corp.

The Japanese company in August 2020 signed a contract with the Philippine Defense Department worth about $100 million for four FPS-3ME radars. Domestic production for the first radar concluded in October 2022, and the Philippine Air Force received it last week.

The second radar is meant for the Philippine Navy, and its acquisition is possible thanks to $4.2 million from a Japanese-run security assistance program, according to the Japanese and Philippine governments.

Neither the Japanese government nor Mitsubishi have disclosed the status of the remaining radar systems on order.

“The coastal radar systems … are a vital addition to the [Armed Forces of the Philippines’] maritime defense capabilities and will bolster our ability to monitor and protect our extensive coastline, ensuring the safety and security of our seas,” Gen. Romeo Brawner, the military’s chief of staff, said in a statement.

In his speech before the Philippine lawmakers, Kishida said enhancing the Philippines’ security contributes to “regional peace and stability.”

Philippine ships have clashed with Chinese vessels around the Scarborough Shoal and near the Spratly Islands in recent months. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea as its own, while several other nations also claim territory in the area.

“The Philippines faces important sea lanes for Japan including the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait,” Japan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a Nov. 3 statement. “To ensure the safety and security of these sea lanes, it is very timely and crucial that the maritime domain awareness (MDA) capabilities of the Department of National Defense, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines and especially the Philippine Navy, are enhanced for the effective monitoring of these sea lanes and waters.”