U.S. Plans 100-Strong Mideast Sea Drone Fleet
DUBAI (Reuters) -- The United States Navy and security partners will patrol Middle East waters with 100 unmanned vessels next year, the U.S. Fifth Fleet commander said on Monday. “We are at the cusp of an unmanned technological revolution,” Vice Admiral Brad Cooper told a defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi, where he unveiled plans for the joint fleet. “By the summer of next year, 100 advanced unmanned surface vessels would be patrolling the waters around this region.” Cooper said the United States would join with Middle East allies whose forces have unmanned vessel capabilities to operate much of the new fleet.