Marines Test ‘Narco Sub’ With An Eye On War With China

Taking creative inspiration from Latin American drug traffickers, the United States Marines Corps is testing low-profile “narco subs” intended for potential use in the Indo-Pacific theater. The Marines have another term and — of course — an acronym for the concept: the Autonomous Low-Profile Vessel (ALVP) program.

The unmanned vessel being tested by II Marine Expeditionary Force is called the “Sea Specter,” and it’s produced by Gibbs & Cox, is a subsidiary of Reston, VA-based Leidos.  “I think that it’s OK to say that those narco subs inspired the concept, but that’s where the similarities end,” Gibbs & Cox chief engineering officer Jeff Bowles told Defense One. “Narco subs are dirty. They’re dangerous. They’re not engineered. But in principle, their mission is the same — move a large volume of cargo with the minimal chance of being observed by anyone else.”

Over recent decades, US operations have been focused on counterinsurgency and other enemies ill-equipped to challenge logistical connections using the air or sea. However, in a potential war with China — a so-called “near-peer” — American ships and cargo planes could be much more vulnerable. “So you might not be able to take something that’s a big, high-value target, or something that’s slow moving or highly observable, to deliver re-supplies to the troops, because it might give away their position,” Bowles says.  

US commandos jump on MOVING narco-cartel’s submarine in dramatic drug bust

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Along the Sea Specter’s 65-foot frame, its above-water profile ranges from a couple feet to mere inches. Its command and control system is produced by Sea Machines Robotics. 

With a sensor mounted 8 feet above the deck, the ALPV can see about 5 to 7 miles in front of it, and can carry 5 tons for 2,300 nautical miles, traveling at 8 knots. Tie-downs inside the boat are designed to hold pallets, so the vessels can be loaded down with ammunition, food, fuel, water, or anything else. - Defense News

To put the vessel’s 2,300 nautical-mile range in perspective, it’s a 1,500-mile trip from the US logistical hub on Guam to the Philippines. Dispensing military advice that happens to boost his company’s revenue prospects, Bowles says the Marines may want to send a dozen narco subs on such a supply run in wartime, to allow for half of them to be blown up by China. 

While the program’s current emphasis is on logistics missions, the vessels could have a variety of uses. “This thing could loiter in a prescribed area for a very extended duration,” Bowles said, suggesting they could facilitate communications. “It could also form a picket line to look for intruders. You could line these up, you know, and look for human trafficking, or any type of people encroaching on U.S. territory. These things have the endurance to sit there.”

The current version of the Sea Specter is made of wood. “That’s not the solution that we believe is right for the long-term, and we’re looking to move into preparing for high-volume production out of a different material,” said Bowles, holding out possibilities of fiberglass, aluminum or steel.  

Sneaky robotic supply vessels are not the stuff of nightmares. In that realm, concerns are mounting both inside and outside of China as the Communist superpower advances humanoid robot development to replace human soldiers on the battlefield raising the specter of rogue robot troops unleashing Terminator-style indiscriminate killings.