By Robbin Laird

The Abraham Accords set in motion enhanced maritime security and defense capabilities in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The UAE, Bahrain, the U.S. and Israel cooperated in a five day exercise in the Red Sea to reinforce defense and security relationships in the maritime domain,.

Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of NAVCENT, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, said: “It is exciting to see U.S. forces training with regional partners to enhance our collective maritime security capabilities. Maritime collaboration helps safeguard freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade, which are essential to regional security and stability.”

Last week, Israeli Air Force F-15s escorted two US B-1B strategic heavy bombers and a KC-10 refueler over Israeli airspace on their way to the Gulf.

It was the second such flight in two weeks.

According to an IDF statement, it was “a significant step in maintaining the security of the skies of the State of Israel and the Middle East”.

Last month, the IDF held their Blue Flag exercise with seven other air forces, including the USAF, the RAF and other European partners, which including Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

As one source noted: “More joint military exercises among Abraham Accord partners are also anticipated in the future.”

The U.S. Fifth Fleet is headquartered in Bahrain.

During my two visits to Bahrain in 2019, I had a chance to talk about the evolving defense and security capabilities being reshaped in the region and in October 2019 provided a presentation on the final day of the BIDEC 2019 Conference.

One of the subjects which I raised during my presentation was the coming of maritime autonomous systems and the value to Bahrain of such systems,.

Significant investments are being made in Bahrain in science and technology, and applications to he maritime autonomous systems domain make a great deal of sense.

Also, the ISR capabilities which such systems can provide to Bahrain as a pillar for their evolving information base for security and defense also make a great deal of sense as well.

In a September 23, 2021 press release by NAVCENT, the cooperation between the U.S. Navy and Bahrain in this domain was highlighted.

BAHRAIN – During a visit to the U.S. Navy installation in Bahrain, Sept. 23, Bahraini leaders committed to partnering with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) to accelerate integration of new unmanned systems into regional maritime operations.

Major Gen. Ala Abdulla Seyadi, commander of the Bahrain Coast Guard; Rear Adm. Mohammed Yousif Al Asam, commander of the Royal Bahrain Naval Force; and Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of NAVCENT, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces discussed future opportunities for cooperation.

“We have an enduring strategic relationship with the Kingdom of Bahrain and our mutual commitment to advancing new unmanned systems demonstrates us strengthening the partnership in a new way,” said Cooper. “This initiative enables us to expand maritime domain awareness on, above and below the water and enhance regional deterrence.”

NAVCENT commissioned Task Force 59, Sept. 9, to rapidly integrate unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into U.S. 5th Fleet operations and drive discovery in human-machine teaming technologies.

Cooper briefed the Bahraini leaders on NAVCENT’s latest unmanned surface, underwater and aerial vehicles on site at U.S. Naval Support Activity Bahrain.

In October, Bahrain’s maritime forces will be the first regional partners to collaborate with Task Force 59 on a manned-unmanned teaming exercise to evaluate advanced unmanned surface vessels. The at-sea event will kick off a series of maritime exercises that integrate manned and unmanned systems during operations with regional and coalition partners.

The Middle East region’s unique geography, climate, and strategic importance offer an ideal environment for unmanned innovation. The area includes the world’s largest standing maritime partnership and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab-al-Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.

And in October 26, 2021 update from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, the evolving work in the region with allies with regard to maritime autonomous systems was provided:

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command is leading the way as the Navy tests out new operational concepts for unmanned surface vessels in front-line operations. On Monday, NAVCENT completed exercise New Horizon, the first at-sea trial for its new unmanned task force, which is among the first Navy units to integrate USV technology into real-world service – in this case, ensuring maritime security in the Persian Gulf. 

During the two-day training exercise, the command’s newly-established Task Force 59 tested out its MANTAS T-12 USVs alongside U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and Bahrain Defense Force manned vessels. It was the first time that NAVCENT has integrated USVs with manned assets at sea in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. 

The first phase of New Horizon, conducted Oct. 20, saw operators controlling the USVs aboard the Cyclone-class patrol ship USS Firebolt, while the small surfboard-shaped vessels conducted high-speed maneuvers in formation. Participating units included the cutter USCGC Maui, a Seahawk helicopter, a V-BAT unmanned aerial vehicle and a Royal Bahrain Naval Force patrol craft. Both U.S. and Bahraini forces practiced operating the vessels in formation.

“This is a significant milestone for our new task force as we accelerate the integration of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into complex, cross-domain operations at sea,” said Capt. Michael Brasseur, commander of Task Force 59. “Real-world evaluation is essential.”

NAVCENT established the task force on September 8, and it is the first unit of its kind in the Navy. Extended unmanned trials are key to the service’s push to figure out how to use (and sustain) these systems in the real world. In the years ahead, the Navy hopes to deploy full-size, oceangoing unmanned warships to augment the fleet’s lethality at low cost. In order to get there, the Navy’s leadership is well aware that it will have to work out several thorny technical problems – particularly comms, command and control, and keeping propulsion running – and operations like Task Force 59 will help with the practical shakedown process.

Featured Photo: Old and new: the 1986-built RBNS Abdul Rahman Al-Fadel, background, and a Mantas T-12 (5th Fleet)

By Robbin Laird

I had the chance to work with Lt. General (Retired) Robling both when he was Deputy Commandant of Aviation from 2011-2012 and when he was the MARFORPAC commander from 2012 to 2014.  

We started by looking back at his time as the MARFORPAC Commander, and the beginning of the “pivot to the Pacific” and the challenges faced by the USMC at the time. 

Question: Looking back, when you came to the Pacific command, the Osprey really was the key tool for USMC transformation in the region. In effect, it was the spear in the ground from which you built out a new way ahead. You also began the process of expanding the USMC relationship with Australia as well. How important was the Osprey in this transformation process?

 Lt. General (Retired) Robling: The Osprey was transformational for us. There are 25,000 plus islands in the Pacific and half of the globe in the INDOPACOM theater. We were actually the main air-enabled ground force at the time in the region. The Army brigade was coming back from the Middle East to establish the Brigade on Oahu, and they tried their Pacific Pathways approach which failed miserably. 

For us, the MV-22 opened the entire theater for us. We could air refuel the aircraft, we could island hop, and we could operate from Japan all the way to Australia. It was a game changer for how we approached  theater operations and how the Joint Force Commander considered how he would use the Marines in the joint fight. 

Question: Since you were there, and even though you were anticipating them, the F-35s are now operating in the theater. There are now two squadrons of Marines operating from Okinawa and they are operating every day in the first island chain. That is a big change from when you are there, and how would describe that change?

Lt. General (Retired) Robling: It is a big change. Most importantly the Marines flying the F-35 will support the USAF’s initial air campaign in any Korean contingency.  This will give the Joint Force Commander unprecedented stealth capability until the rest of the joint force can close on the region. 

Secondly, the F-35’s will support our partners and allies in the region by training and operating off of the ships in the 31st MEU.

The F-35’s ability to operate together and to distribute data to the joint force and operate in concert with the MV-22’s have simply expanded how we operate in the Pacific and how the Joint Force Commander looks at the role of the Marines and their contribution to the joint force. Combing the two provides a unique airborne capability in the Pacific which can deliver force insertion throughout the region at significant speed and range.

Question: When I visited you in Hawaii during your time as MARFORPAC Commander, you and your staff were clearly focused on what you saw as an upsurge in “amphibiosity” with regard to our allies. Significant progress has been achieved along these lines since 2014. How should we view this progress?

Lt. General (Retired) Robling: We were especially focused on Japan and Australia and since that time both nations have augmented their amphibious capabilities. We helped those nation’s to think differently about warfighting and how to defend their interests.

For example, with the both the MV-22 and the F-35B operating from amphibious ships, the Japanese can think differently with regard to defending their outlying islands and, more generally, about the defense of Japan. The three – MV-22s, F-35Bs, and amphibious aviation ships – are transformational for both the USMC and our allies. 

Question: For the USMC, the recent transformation process started in 2007 with the coming of the MV-22. Now General Berger, the current USMC Commandant, is adding a new chapter with regard to the next transformation module for the USMC. How should we understand the approach and how does it blend in with what has come before?

Lt. General (Retired) Robling: I believe the Commandant was courageous in getting out ahead of the Joint force in facing what everyone is calling the pacing threat; China.  Our nation has to face that threat and decidedly prepare for it now.  But the challenge is that he is out in front of the other services in their preparation for a fight with China.  I do not believe we as a country have decided what the strategy or that fight might look like and we don’t have a full understanding of China’s improved war fighting capabilities, how they will use them, how we will counter them, or what the USMC’s role should be in that fight.

Question: The approach to building a more distributed USMC is certainly in line with past USMC practice, but the challenge is to ensure force cohesion and force integrability, first with regard to a deployed MEU or MAGTF, and with whatever joint or coalition partners are working with that distributed USMC force. How do you see the challenge of distribution and integration?

Lt. General (Retired) Robling: The danger here is that we develop a niche force incapable of participating in high-end fights operating as some type of reconnaissance role or rear area security operation.  In an escalatory war with China, I don’t believe it would be long before North Korea starts looking seriously about taking South Korea and likely encouraged to do so by China. 

As  a previous III MEF Commander and later MARFORPAC commander, I would argue that the Marine Corps’ unique aviation and amphibious capabilities give it a decided advantage to the Joint Force Commander in other near peer campaigns.  The redesigned force as envisioned by the Commandant will not necessarily support those type of activities.

While we work towards becoming a light force focused on forward positioning and persistent inside the weapons engagement zone activities, we do not have the kind of sensors which are needed for this type of operation.  As a force that will collect and distribute data back to the joint force, we are woefully incapable of doing so much less operate low signature bases with low signature force structures.

This requires the right kind of C², ISR accessibility, strike support, logistical support and an ability to be inserted and extracted at the time of our choice.  C² will not be persistent,  and neither will data transmission capabilities.  We need a networked force that can operate even when we are not always tied into the joint force. 

Logistical support is another weakness in our development of EABO operations that seriously needs overhauling. The Navy will likely need to prioritize their missions in full spectrum crisis management operations against China.  Logistical support to small units of Marines on obscure islands will likely fall out of that their decision mix and the commercial capabilities to support the force in a maritime centric China fight will be sorely inadequate. 

The Commandant posed this weakness himself in remarks at the recent Marine Corps Aviation Symposium where he stated in the case of limited logistical support, the Marines may have to resort to foraging.  How long can we forage on a pacific island?

I do believe however, that the Commandant is correct in his vision of investing in HIMARS and Maritime Strike Missile (both long and short range) to help in anti-access and aerial denial operations.  These rockets and missiles are game changers and can significantly advance the Marines war fighting capabilities both in limited maritime and extended land operations.

I concur with the Commandant that the MAGTF cannot be the Marines only solution in warfighting operations. Yet we are building a force now that decidedly understates the role of aviation in all our warfighting activities.  Both in EABO operations and in our role in near peer conflict.  

Over the last thirty years we have developed and acquired MV-22, CH-53, and F-35 aircraft with significant capabilities not otherwise brought to the joint force.  This aviation triad has increased our value to the Joint force tenfold.  It has made the Joint warfighting commander think differently how he will prosecute a campaign because of our decided advantage this triad of aviation capabilities alongside our Marines gives us.

Aviation cuts in constrained budget environments (we have always been in constrained budget environments) is inevitable, but once again, we must ensure the cuts are not so deep that we cannot recover from them if we are wrong about our role in the Indo-Pacific fight.  We may be.

China may not care that Marines will be rooting around on islands inside the Second Island Chain.  If our purpose is to be part of a naval force capable of ensuring sea control and denial operations, China may have already taken those considerations into their war fighting equation.   

If I am right, then we need to  give them pause to change their equation so our presence actually does what we say it will do.  While I applaud the Commandant’s focus on returning to our core mission of support to the Naval Fleet Commander through our role as the Fleet Marine Force Commander, our ability to work with the Navy in an ecosystem that requires insertion and support to focus inside the weapons engagement zone is not there now and will not likely be for quite some time. 

This will take a larger investment by the Navy in capabilities and training that they have so far been unwilling to invest.

Featured Photo: Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysian Minister of Defence, and U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Terry G. Robling, commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, greet one another on Camp Smith, Hawaii, April 1, 2014. Hishammuddin is visiting Hawaii for a meeting with the Honorable Mr. Chuck Hagel, U.S. Secretary of Defense, and other defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, April 1-3. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by LCpl. Wesley Timm/Released)