{ "archive_path": "archive/1789769038.00413", "base_url": "www.twz.com/sea/marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats", "basename": "marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats", "bookmarked_date": "2026-09-18 22:03", "canonical": { "archive_org_path": "https://web.archive.org/web/www.twz.com/sea/marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats", "dom_path": "output.html", "favicon_path": "favicon.ico", "git_path": "git/", "google_favicon_path": "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=www.twz.com", "headers_path": "headers.json", "htmltotext_path": "htmltotext.txt", "index_path": "index.html", "media_path": "media/", "mercury_path": "mercury/content.html", "pdf_path": "output.pdf", "readability_path": "readability/content.html", "screenshot_path": "screenshot.png", "singlefile_path": "singlefile.html", "warc_path": "warc/", "wget_path": "www.twz.com/sea/marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats.html" }, "domain": "www.twz.com", "extension": "", "hash": "MNS3E3K6S2Y38EYFNTZP", "history": { "archive_org": [], "dom": [], "favicon": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--max-time", "120", "--output", "favicon.ico", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=www.twz.com" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-09-19T01:33:16.846166+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "favicon.ico", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789769038.00413", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-19T01:33:16.212452+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "git": [], "headers": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--head", "--max-time", "120", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.twz.com/sea/marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-09-19T01:33:17.125055+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "headers.json", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789769038.00413", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-19T01:33:16.855888+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "htmltotext": [], "media": [], "mercury": [ { "cmd": [ "/app/node_modules/@postlight/parser/cli.js", "https://www.twz.com/sea/marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats" ], "cmd_version": "1.0.0", "end_ts": "2026-09-19T01:33:58.064369+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "mercury", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789769038.00413", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-19T01:33:54.123103+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "pdf": [], "readability": [ { "cmd": [ "/app/node_modules/readability-extractor/readability-extractor", "/tmp/tmp3s2dw0ef", "https://www.twz.com/sea/marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats" ], "cmd_version": "0.0.11", "end_ts": "2026-09-19T01:33:54.113203+00:00", "index_texts": [ "The officer who led the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) on its recent combat deployment to the Middle East told us he needs his own uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) on future deployments. Operationalizing USVs is an area where the Marines are lagging behind. In particular, he wants the ability to send USVs forward to reconnoiter potential highly-contested beach landing areas, a mission largely assumed by the Navy. \n\n\n\nAs we have frequently reported, the military use of USVs is now proliferating around the globe at an increasing rate. Ukraine has employed sea drones to devastating effect against Russia\u2019s Black Sea Fleet vessels and facilities, forcing the general evacuation of Russian naval assets from occupied Crimea to bases in Russia proper. During Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. used them for the first time in combat, as one-way attack weapons against Iranian targets, to hunt for mines, and for a search and rescue operation to locate the crew of an AH-64 Apache helicopter downed by Iran, as well as general broad-area surveillance and awareness. China is investing heavily in the space, as well, along with many other navies around the globe, both friend and foe.\n\n\n\nThe following video shows the first U.S. use of a USV as a kamikaze weapon.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYesterday, using multiple one-way attack surface drones, CENTCOM forces successfully struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran. Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea\u2026 pic.twitter.com/bOM2kmgRxz\u2014 U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 13, 2026\n\n\n\n\n\n\u201cThere was a lot in theater that were being used, but it wasn\u2019t something that we went out with,\u201d Col. Chris P. Niedziocha told us when asked if the 31st MEU deployed with USVs. He then answered in the affirmative in response to a question about if MEUs need sea drones on future deployments. He said it is part of the \u201cexplosion in robotics and autonomy\u201d being used in combat.\n\n\n\n\u201cThese systems are incredibly useful and capable,\u201d explained Niedziocha, now director of the USMC Expeditionary Warfare School. \u201cAnd you say, \u2018Hey, you know, [in] the next war, if the first thing you\u2019re putting through the breach isn\u2019t a robot, something\u2019s wrong. You say never send a Marine someplace you haven\u2019t sent a bullet. I think the new way is [you] never want to send a Marine someplace you haven\u2019t already sent a robot. So yeah, we\u2019re embracing [the technology] and we\u2019re not leaders. We\u2019re fast followers in that regime.\u201d\n\n\n\nAsked for specific use cases he sees for USVs, the colonel talked about using them before putting Marines ashore.\n\n\n\n\u201cI can tell you if you\u2019re doing an amphibious operation, you want to understand what\u2019s waiting beneath the surface in the water column,\u201d Niedziocha noted. \u201cSo something can go either with a side-looking sonar array or even forward-looking to demonstrate that there\u2019s nothing there, and the hydrography and bathymetry is what you\u2026 need for the operation to be successful.\u201d\n\n\n\nHydrography measures \u201cthe shape and features of the shoreline; the characteristics of tides, currents, and waves; and the physical and chemical properties of the water itself,\u201d according to NOAA. Bathymetry, which is part of that, focuses on mapping the depths and shapes of underwater terrain.\n\n\n\nNOAA \n\n\n\nThese functions are critical for mine detection and determining whether there are man-made or natural obstacles that would impede landing operations. While these missions are largely being performed by the Navy, including with USVs, the Marines are moving toward making that an organic capability. Recently, the Marines announced they were testing a counter-mine USV system. The evaluation was conducted late last month at Camp Pendleton by the Program Manager Combat Support Systems (PM CSS) Explosive Hazard Defeat Team.\n\n\n\nThe test of the USV was \u201cin response to a littoral capability gap,\u201d according to the media release. \u201cThe solution: seek a commercial USV solution that is equipped with integrated autonomous driving and payloads that consist of Sonar, Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) cameras, Line of Sight (LOS) Communications and Acoustic Communications (AComms).\u201d\n\n\n\nThis was part of the overall effort to develop \u201csolutions that enable increased standoff for Marines to detect, investigate and neutralize threats,\u201d the release added. \u201cThe innovation of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Littoral Explosive Ordnance Neutralization (LEON) systems will provide Marine EOD Technicians with the confidence to operate in contested environments while preserving combat power, increasing operational reach, and minimizing exposure to explosive threats.\u201d\n\n\n\nLEON is a so-called system of systems, using a remotely operated vehicle, diver equipment, an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), a USV, and an Amphibious Unmanned Ground Vehicle to enable \u201cEOD to confirm and mark hazards and obstacles from very shallow water to the beach zone,\u201d the media release added.\n\n\n\nWhile unmanned systems have long been part of EOD operations, \u201cwe\u2019re expanding that into maritime systems that allow more endurance and less risk for operators,\u201d said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Alfredo Andrade, officer in charge, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 7th Engineer Support Battalion (ESB). \u201cSome of the conflicts that we are engaged in take a toll on the force, and surging in new forces is costly. It turns into a logistical problem. To preserve the safety and the health of the forces\u2026 the USV and the [LEON] program exist to ensure that we have readily available combat power.\u201d\n\n\n\nIn late August at Camp Pendleton, the PM CSS Explosive Hazard Defeat Team tested an unmanned surface vessel in response to a littoral capability gap. (PAE Marine Corps photo by Kristiana Gehly) Kristiana Gehly\n\n\n\nWhile Niedziocha didn\u2019t address USVs for offensive combat roles, the Marines have evaluated them for that use as well as for logistics, among other functions.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOur Autonomous Low-Profile Vessel (ALPV) solicitation is now accepting submissions.The @DeptofWar and the @USMC need to resupply units spread over wide distances in contested littoral environments. Increased all-domain threats targeting logistics capabilities, locations, and\u2026 pic.twitter.com/Af8v0DTRHS\u2014 Department of War Innovation Unit (@DIU_x) March 3, 2026\n\n\n\n\n\nThere have been many other tests, as well. Including one just this summer at RIMPAC. These trials saw the launch and recovery of one of Splash Industries\u2019 Typhoon USVs aboard the USS Essex. The \u2018Gator Navy\u2019 of amphibious assault vessels that haul Marines and their kit around the oceans is uniquely suited to act as USV motherships. Their well decks allow for easy deployment and recovery of USVs of many sizes and capabilities near seamlessly. So it won\u2019t be surprising if these vessels and the Marines aboard them quickly become staples in the Pentagon\u2019s USV playbook.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWatch us land one of our drone-boats inside a moving US Navy warship during RIMPAC. This world-first resupply mission\u00a0was performed completely autonomously using a Splash Industries Typhoon USV. pic.twitter.com/AEzNzZjsL1\u2014 Ivan Avanesov (@i_vanesov) July 14, 2026\n\n\n\n\n\nStill, the Marines have a long way to go to catch up to how these systems are already being used.\n\n\n\nThe Houthi rebels of Yemen actually pioneered the operational use of kamikaze USVs years ago and Ukraine has led the way in advancements of these systems. They first employed them as kamikaze weapons, but then added machine guns and rockets and later missiles, which were used to shoot down Russian helicopters and jets. Ukraine has also used them to launch first-person view (FPV) and bomber drone attacks as well as deliver uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) into enemy territory. Last week, Ukraine claimed to have attacked a Russian USV with a USV, marking another first.\n\n\n\nYou can see that engagement in the following video.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nUkraine's Navy says a Sargan unmanned surface vessel destroyed a Russian unmanned boat with machine-gun fire in the Black Sea, the first-ever battle between unmanned surface vessels. Ukrainian Navy personnel operated in coordination with HUR. #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/Avg4ecz8m6\u2014 NOELREPORTS \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@NOELreports) September 12, 2026\n\n\n\n\n\nHaving recently returned from a six-month deployment that saw the Marine Corps\u2019 first use of its Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) concept in a combat setting during the fight against Iran, Niedziocha has a good sense of the realities of modern warfare. His Marines operated forward arming and refueling points (FARPs) for various aircraft in combat for the first time and set up remote sensing locations.\n\n\n\nThat a commander like him sees value in USVs is a good sign for progress in the development of these systems.\n\n\n\nContact the author: howard@twz.com" ], "output": "readability", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789769038.00413", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-19T01:33:51.959966+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "screenshot": [], "singlefile": [], "title": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--max-time", "120", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.twz.com/sea/marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-09-19T01:33:51.951605+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "Marine Colonel Who Led Mideast Combat Deployment Wants His Own Drone Boats", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789769038.00413", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-19T01:33:51.906236+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "wget": [ { "cmd": [ "wget", "--no-verbose", "--adjust-extension", "--convert-links", "--force-directories", "--span-hosts", "--no-parent", "-e", "robots=off", "--reject=js,mjs,woff,woff2,ttf,otf,eot,mp4,m4v,mov,webm,ogv,mkv,avi,flv", "--timeout=120", "--restrict-file-names=windows", "--page-requisites", "--user-agent=Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) wget/GNU Wget 1.21.3", "--compression=auto", "--timestamping", "https://www.twz.com/sea/marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats" ], "cmd_version": "GNU Wget 1.21.3", "end_ts": "2026-09-19T01:33:51.895797+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "www.twz.com/sea/marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats.html", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789769038.00413", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-19T01:33:17.134499+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ] }, "icons": null, "is_archived": true, "is_static": false, "latest": { "archive_org": null, "dom": null, "favicon": "favicon.ico", "git": null, "media": null, "pdf": null, "screenshot": null, "singlefile": null, "title": "Marine Colonel Who Led Mideast Combat Deployment Wants His Own Drone Boats", "warc": null, "wget": "www.twz.com/sea/marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats.html" }, "link_dir": "/data/archive/1789769038.00413", "newest_archive_date": "2026-09-19T01:33:54.123103+00:00", "num_failures": 0, "num_outputs": 6, "oldest_archive_date": "2026-09-19T01:33:16.212452+00:00", "path": "/sea/marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats", "schema": "Link", "scheme": "https", "snapshot_id": "6caa9c35-a29d-4f99-a892-2272fcef724c", "sources": [ "/data/sources/1789769037-import.txt" ], "tags": ",war_movement,war-wiki,pool", "tags_str": "war_movement,war-wiki,pool", "timestamp": "1789769038.00413", "title": "Marine Colonel Who Led Mideast Combat Deployment Wants His Own Drone Boats", "updated": "2026-09-19T01:33:16.212142+00:00", "updated_date": "2026-09-19 01:33", "url": "https://www.twz.com/sea/marine-colonel-who-led-mideast-combat-deployment-wants-his-own-drone-boats" }