{"id":38086,"date":"2023-11-08T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/11\/08\/navy-surface-drone-fires-its-first-missile-during-middle-east-exercise\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:16:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:16:36","slug":"navy-surface-drone-fires-its-first-missile-during-middle-east-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2023\/11\/08\/navy-surface-drone-fires-its-first-missile-during-middle-east-exercise\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy surface drone fires its first missile during Middle East exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the Navy continues to experiment with and expand upon its burgeoning drone fleet in the Middle Eastern patrolled by U.S. 5th Fleet, an unmanned surface ship fired missiles for the first time there during an exercise last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The firing of a so-called \u201cLethal Missile Aerial Missile System\u201d from a MARTAC T38 Devil Ray drone came during the Digital Talon exercise in the waters around the Arabian Peninsula on Oct. 23, according to the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exercise was overseen by Task Force 59, a Navy unit dedicated to unmanned and artificial intelligence technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For the first time in the Middle East, a Navy surface drone used a mobile missile system to destroy a target boat during an exercise off the Arabian Peninsula on Oct. 23, 2023. (Chief Mass Communication Specialist Justin Stumberg)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During the event, the drones teamed up with manned vessels to identify simulated enemy boats and fired missiles that destroyed the targets, according to the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Devil Ray\u2019s missile firing marked a milestone, a human operator ashore still made the call to engage.<\/p>\n\n\n\t