{"id":24170,"date":"2020-11-30T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-30T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/11\/30\/asia-pacific-militaries-bet-on-unmanned-systems-to-meet-regional-challenges\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:02:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:02:23","slug":"asia-pacific-militaries-bet-on-unmanned-systems-to-meet-regional-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/unmanned\/2020\/11\/30\/asia-pacific-militaries-bet-on-unmanned-systems-to-meet-regional-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Asia-Pacific militaries bet on unmanned systems to meet regional challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MELBOURNE, Australia \u2014 Asia-Pacific nations are embracing the use of unmanned solutions for maritime missions, with several nations bordering the Pacific Ocean and with extensive littorals either operating or planning to acquire<\/a> unmanned systems for use in the domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The countries\u2019 reasons for doing so vary, from a desire to monitor the activities of China\u2019s increasingly powerful and assertive Navy to watching for pirates or transnational criminals. And the platforms chosen range from Australia\u2019s Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton \u2015 a high-altitude, long-endurance UAV \u2015 to the more modest Insitu ScanEagle, which the U.S. government has donated to a number of Southeast Asian nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taiwan watches China<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early November the Trump administration approved four separate arms sales<\/a> requests from Taiwan, including one for four General Atomics MQ-9B \u201cweapons-ready\u201d unmanned aircraft, for an estimated value of $600 million. The package also includes the Raytheon SeaVue maritime multirole patrol radars, suggesting Taiwan will acquire the SeaGuardian variant of the MQ-9B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The package also includes two mobile ground control stations, 14 embedded inertial navigation\/global positioning systems, and Wescam MX-20 multispectral targeting systems. No weapons were included in the package, although the SeaGuardian can carry laser-guided bombs and Hellfire air-to-ground missiles. The drone\u2019s manufacturer, General Atomics, has displayed artwork showing the aircraft carrying sonobuoy dispensers and lightweight torpedoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On July 11, 2018, a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) \u2013 the MQ-9B SkyGuardian \u2013 flew from the United States to the United Kingdom, landing after a 24-hour trans-Atlantic flight using the same routes as manned aircraft. (General Atomics)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Defense Security and Cooperation Agency, in announcing the potential deal, said the \u201cproposed sale will improve the recipient\u2019s capability to meet current and future threats by providing timely Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), target acquisition, and counter-land, counter-sea, and anti-submarine strike capabilities for its security and defense.\u201d (DSCA announcements do not represent final sales. If there is no congressional objection, the customer can begin negotiating over price and quantities, which often change by the time a final sale is completed.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SeaGuardian would certainly improve Taiwan\u2019s information-sharing capabilities with American forces, a critical consideration in the event of a potential invasion by China, which sees the self-governing island as a rogue province and has vowed to reincorporate it with the mainland, by force if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan\u2019s Coast Guard operations<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. ally Japan, which has warily eyed China\u2019s increasingly powerful military and paramilitary forces, has also shown interest in the SeaGuardian. General Atomics has been marketing the drone to Japan\u2019s Coast Guard, which is seeking an unmanned aerial system for the persistent monitoring of foreign vessels operating within Japan\u2019s vast exclusive economic zone, or EEZ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These foreign vessels include fishing boats suspected as being part of China\u2019s Maritime Militia or Coast Guard. These forces have frequently entered the contiguous zone of the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands that China also claims as its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\t