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U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One, conduct heavy lift exercises as part of Weapons and Tactics Instructor course 1-25 at Auxiliary Airfield 2 near Yuma, Arizona, Oct. 4, 2024. WTI course is a seven-week training event hosted by MAWTS-1 which emphasizes operational integration of the six functions of Marine aviation in support of the Marine Air Ground Task Force, Joint and Coalition Forces.
U.S. Army Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment and U.S. Marines with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing transport Patriot missiles on an MV-22B Osprey from Kadena Air Base to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan, Nov. 5, 2024.
The prototype loading system was designed to offer a more efficient method of transporting Patriot missiles.
One of the most frequently-read recent articles on this site is Mike Daum’s excellent piece: Infantry Wins Battles, Logistics Wins Wars: The Role of the Army’s ‘Little Navy’ in the Pacific. As the title implies, this piece is focused on the U.S. Army; however, two key statements universalize Daum’s argument. He argues that “getting American troops into the fight is relatively easy—the hard part is keeping them there” and that “one suggestion is to integrate uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) into the logistics chain”—both of these points extend beyond the Army’s needs.
The challenge of providing logistics sustainment to forces in the field is not a new phenomenon. Over 2,500 years ago, Sun Tzu noted, “The line between disorder and order lies in logistics.” One need not be a historian to understand the importance of logistics to warfare over many millennia. From Alexander the Great (who noted: “My logisticians are a humorless lot…they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay”) to Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan (“Logistics are as vital to military success as daily food is to daily work”) to General Robert Barrow, then-Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, who coined a phrase that is still a staple of U.S. War College curricula: “Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics.”
Navy-Marine Corps amphibious operations represent perhaps the one area where logistics cannot fail. Once Marines are on the beach, they have few options to continue the fight if their logistics train breaks down—and might even have to withdraw. The prospect of assaulting a hostile shore today is more daunting than ever. The capacity of Marines to seize the beach and push inland depends on the security of their logistical support.
The Navy-Marine Corps team has pushed the envelope by leveraging new technologies to make the nation’s expeditionary assault force more distributed, lethal, survivable, and sustainable. Given the importance of logistics to the success of any amphibious assault, the sustainability function is one that is ripe for new technology insertion.
Enhancing Expeditionary Logistics with Emerging Technology
For the Navy-Marine Corps team, the importance of logistics figures most prominently during an amphibious assault. The INDOPACOM Joint Exercise Valiant Shield, overseen by Commander Marine Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC) experimented with using emerging technology to provide sustainment to Marines on the beachhead during this critical juncture.
Marines in the fight use enormous quantities of fuel, food, ammunition, and other material as they attempt to move off the beachhead. While many functions are important in an amphibious operation, once the assault is underway and Marines are on the beach, sustainment is crucial in ensuring their success. The mission will ultimately fail if the Marines are not able to have reliable and continuous sustainment.
Using manned naval craft for this sustainment mission puts operators at unnecessary risk of enemy fire. Using scarce manned craft to perform this mission also takes them away from more necessary roles such as moving men and material between ships of the expeditionary strike group. That is why this major Navy-Marine Corps amphibious exercise evaluated the ability of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to conduct this sustainment mission.
MARFORPAC used USVs during Valiant Shield 2018 to resupply the landing force. The exercise coordinator used a catamaran hull 12-foot MANTAS USV to provide rapid ship-to-shore logistics sustainment. While this small, autonomously-operated USV carried only 120 pounds of cargo, the proof-of-concept worked and demonstrated that unmanned surface vessels could effectively resupply troops ashore.
Using unmanned vehicles for the sustainment mission can be a game-changer for expeditionary assault forces. Beyond removing human operators from harm’s way, using USVs in this role frees manned craft for other missions. Additionally, having a continuous, preprogrammed, logistics resupply process to perform one of the dull, dirty and dangerous functions important in an amphibious assault means that there is one less thing for the commander to have to manage during these operations.
This proof-of-concept with a 12-foot MANTAS USV achieved positive results. That said, resupply in 120-pound increments is far less than is required to provide what is needed by the Marines on the beach. The Valiant Shield exercise provided the impetus and inspiration to continue to explore the use of USVs for amphibious force sustainment. Now, the Navy and Marine Corps are looking to “scale-up” small USVs and continue to experiment with using larger USVs to provide greater sustainment quantities.
“Scaling-Up” to Deliver Expeditionary Logistics
To undertake this scaling-up effort, the Navy and Marine Corps asked the maker of the MANTAS family of USVs (Maritime Tactical Systems, Inc.) to develop a larger proof-of-concept unmanned surface vehicle for this logistics sustainment mission using the same catamaran hull design as the smaller vessel used in Valiant Shield.
A 38-foot “Devil Ray” unmanned surface vehicle is now operable and has participated in numerous Navy and Marine Corps exercises and has demonstrated the ability to provide logistics support at scale. While this may not be the ultimate size or type of USV the expeditionary assault force needs as a long-term solution, it will go a long way to advancing the state-of-the-art in unmanned semi-autonomous or autonomous logistics support.
While there are a range of larger USVs that can be evaluated by the Navy and Marine Corps, the basic specifications of the 38-foot Devil Ray (T38) provide an indication of the ability of USVs to provide a steady, continuous stream of logistics support to Marines on the beach. The T38 can carry a payload up to 4,500 pounds. The vessel travels at a cruise speed of 25 knots and draws just 18 inches of draft. The speed and carrying capacity of the T38-sized USV allows it to fulfill this and many other important logistics functions.
Delivering Logistics Sustainment to Troops Ashore
An amphibious formation typically stands no more than 15-25 nautical miles off the beach being assaulted. Using a notional stand-off distance of 20 nautical miles, an amphibious formation equipped with four T38s traveling at their cruise speed of 25 knots could deliver 18,000 pounds of material from the amphibious ships to the beach per hour, allowing the short time needed for loading and unloading the craft. Multiply that by twenty-four hours and you get a buildup of well-over 400,000 pounds of vital material per day, enough to support a substantial force of troops ashore.
The Navy and Marine Corps are planning an ambitious array of exercises in the years ahead. Based on the promising performance of small, unmanned surface vessels in support of expeditionary assault forces, the Navy and Marine Corps would be well-served to experiment further with larger USVs to perform this vital logistics sustainment mission.
Those nations and navies with significant amphibious assault forces would be well served to leverage what the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have already demonstrated in exercises such as Valiant Shield and explore the advantages of using unmanned surface vehicles to rapidly, reliably and continuously resupply troops ashore.
George Galdorisi is a career naval aviator and national security professional. His 30-year career as a naval aviator culminated in fourteen years of consecutive service as executive officer, commanding officer, commodore, and chief of staff. Additionally, he led the U.S. delegation for military-to-military talks with the Chinese Navy. He is the author of 18 books, including four New York Times bestsellers. His most recent book, “Algorithms and Armageddon: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Future Wars, was published by the U.S. Naval Institute Press in 2024.
This article was first published on 2 January 2025 on the Center for Maritime Strategy.
Featured photo: MARTAC USVS are not built as single platforms but to operate as a mesh fleet carrying diverse payloads. Here two of the MARTAC platforms are seen with the smaller MANTAS operating with a DEVIL RAY. Credit Photo: MARTAC
U.S. Marines and Sailors assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One conduct simulated casualty evacuation as part of Weapons and Tactics Instructor course 1-25 near Yuma, Arizona, Oct. 3, 2024. WTI is a seven-week training event hosted by MAWTS-1 which emphasizes operational integration of the six functions of Marine aviation in support of the Marine Air Ground Task Force, Joint and Coalition Forces.
The Australian Defence Force: Meeting the Modernization Challenges examines the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) modernization efforts in light of evolving geopolitical realities, particularly concerning China. The book analyzes the challenges of balancing immediate readiness with long-term force planning.
The author incorporates interviews and presentations from the 2024 Sir Richard Williams Foundation seminar, highlighting perspectives from various ADF branches and allied nations (U.S., U.K.).
Key themes include the impact of political cycles on defense spending, the need for a national security strategy, and the crucial role of industry collaboration in achieving modernization goals.
The book also explores the complexities of building combat mass through a networked, “kill web” approach, focusing on adaptability and rapid technological upgrades.
In the forward to the book John Blaxland comments: “In The Australian Defence Force: Meeting the Modernization Challenges, Robbin Laird updates us on the work covered in his previous book, Australia and Indo-Pacific Defence: Anchoring a Way Ahead (2023). That work provided much more than just an overview of material covered at the previous Williams Foundation seminar. His lucid distillation of the key issues and challenges related to Australia and Indo-Pacific defence, spanning air, land, sea and beyond, warrant re-reading. It also sets up the reader for the contrast which follows in this volume.
“Laird’s new work focuses on the rub points arising from trying to implement long term strategic choices for acquiring next generation military capabilities, while being required to manage ongoing day-to-day operational requirements for the Australian Defence Force – a force which finds itself increasingly challenged. Laird explains this as ‘a case study in the clash between force design for an envisaged force and the need to enhance the force in being to deal with the world as it is.’
“This book highlights the enduring challenge faced by a democracy in getting the politics right while facing short political cycles and competing national priorities which inhibit government willingness to spend on defence. This reflects the age old ‘guns’ versus ‘butter’ dilemma faced by governments elected not on what might happen on the international stage, but on what they have done so far on the domestic front.
“Laird captures the essence of the challenge for defence readiness whereby exquisite platforms are no longer the sole focus, and in planning for continent-spanning defence capabilities, how to build combat mass effectively. The challenge is a significant one in light of the scale of the emergent security issues in the Indo-Pacific to which Australia may be required to respond and the reluctance of governments to spend to match their rhetoric with reality.”
Featured photo: A heritage formation, led by a CAC CA-18 Mustang flanked by two F-35 Lightning II aircraft from No. 77 Squadron, during the Warbirds Over Scone 2024 airshow. Credit: Australian Department of Defence
Exercise Ramstein Flag 24, organised by NATO’s Allied Air Command and the Hellenic Air Force, is under way in Greece. This exercise runs from 30 September to 11 October 2024 and marks the first iteration of the ‘Flag’ series, which aims to demonstrate NATO’s determination and capacity to implement and execute the ‘Deter and Defend’ concept across NATO member countries in the Euro-Atlantic region.
The primary objective of Ramstein Flag 24 is to strengthen cooperation, interoperability and integration among Allied forces. It serves as a powerful demonstration of NATO’s resolve, commitment and ability to deter potential adversaries while defending the Alliance through multi-domain operations.
Along with NATO AWACS aircraft and NATO RQ-4D Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance drones, over 130 fighter and enabler aircraft from Canada, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States are participating in the exercise.
The exercise integrates air, land, maritime, space and cyber domains under NATO command and control. It provides a unique opportunity to practise Counter Anti-Access/Area Denial (C-A2/AD) and Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) tactics, techniques and procedures in a realistic operational environment.
Technologies and actions by our strategic competitors are dramatically reshaping maritime security and defense strategy, particularly in the Black, Red, & South China Seas. Littoral operations are being significantly recalibrated by multiple technological advancements while simultaneously being compounded by the actions of strategic competitors. These battlefield advances are stressing traditional capital ship assets and putting them constantly at risk, necessitating that the U.S. and allied forces to look for alternatives.
Recently, I spoke with my friend and colleague Lieutenant General (Retired) Preziosa, about various strategic developments. As we did so, he posed the following question: “Do you think that recent events in the Red Sea indicate the end of legacy maritime operations and the role of surface ships in enforcing order in the littorals?”
Perhaps one could accuse him of bias in posing the question as he is an ex-Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force and thus he might have a propensity to advocate for air power as the default technological solution, but frankly his question is dead on. Without a doubt, the Red Sea maritime attacks carried out by the Houthis targeting both military and civilian surface assets, combined with the nefarious actions by their Iranian backers, have changed the calculus of traditional littoral operations. These facts, taken in the larger context of malicious Chinese actions in the South China Sea, Russian aggression in the Black Sea, and numerous actors encroaching on the maritime rules-based-order the world over, require an examination of our legacy maritime strategy – one that dates to the Second World War.
In my recently published book, The Coming of Maritime Autonomous Systems: Empowering and Enhancing the Kill Web Force, I wrote extensively about new technologies, including maritime autonomous systems, that are dramatically impacting both offensive and defensive littoral operations.
Today, I would like to examine another emerging technology that could fundamentally change littoral operations.
There is a new generation of vessels that operate on the surface with hydrofoils and then become airborne but remain low over the water. Upon first sight, some might mistakenly call these vehicles seaplanes, but in fact they are wing-in-ground craft and are classified as vessels. These vessels always operate in the maritime environment within a wingspan of the surface, which, due to the greatly increased aerodynamic efficiencies at that low altitude, vastly increases their ability to operate at high-speed while increasing range while reducing detectable acoustic, radar, and IR signatures. These dual-use vessels, equally effective at commercial passenger transport as they are in ISR and contested logistics, are collectively known as “seagliders.”
An artist’s rendering of this seaglider provides an initial view of the vessel and its unique distributed propulsion configuration.
The need for operational advances in the littorals is not unique to the U.S.
In a piece by Royal Australian Air Force officer Joakim Siira published by the William’s Foundation, Siira highlights the need for the “rebirth” of high-speed maritime-based aviation assets for Australian littoral operations. While he was referring specifically to seaplanes in his piece, Sirra’s point is even more applicable to the adoption of seagliders.
There are two considerations to this worth exploring in the context of modern military seaplanes.
The first is impermanence.
Simply put, no RAAF aircraft can rescue anyone from the water. A P-8A can deliver life-saving equipment for the crew of a sunken vessel, loiter overhead for hours, and relay information to surface vessels, but sooner or later, it needs to return to a purpose-built, kilometers-long length of strengthened concrete to land. They can help, but they cannot affect the rescue.
The RAN’s Seahawk helicopters can, but they are tied to their frigates, and if said ship is outside the Seahawk’s maximum range, they are also of no use until getting closer – at the frigate’s maximum speed of 27kts. If there is a time-critical element to a situation, speed of response is a decisive factor. This may be either in the case of a downed aircraft, a sinking ship, or in the aftermath of a natural disaster, all where exposure to the elements is a killer.
A seaplane combines the mobility of a fixed-wing aircraft with the ability of a ship to operate on the water and remove people from danger.
The second consideration is the impermanence of infrastructure.
As noted in the Air and Space Centre’s article ‘Airbases: Now. Then. Always’ climate change is a significant risk to not just Australian airports but those of our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific. The 2011 and 2022 floods both necessitated RAAF platforms to operate out of RAAF Bases Amberley and Richmond, with extreme weather events and sea levels only predicted to increase by the year 2090.
With an increasing frequency of extreme weather events and consistent flooding of two of six of our operational airbases likely to continue, there will continue to be massive strategic consequences. The RAAF and ADF will not be able to fulfill their obligations to support the nation and the region if critical infrastructure is out of action. It’s possible the aforementioned runway works at Cocos Island may be finished just in time to become redundant.
Seagliders can be used with other evolving platform technologies in a variety of innovative missions to support a distributed force operating in the littorals. Included in potential mission sets are operations in and around contested areas, maintaining logistics and executing counter-logistics missions, infiltration and exfiltration of maritime and special operating forces, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), casualty evacuation, command and control, direct action, combat support, and combat service support.
Seagliders are not just an idea for a distant future – they are being designed and built today by a company based in Rhode Island. REGENT Craft’s two variants – Viceroy & Monarch – are electric-powered vessels built to introduce this capability to civilian, military, and security forces. The twelve passenger Viceroy has a gross vehicle weight of 15,000 pounds and a 65-foot wingspan, with a range of 180 miles at speeds of 180 mph. The larger Monarch is expected to enter service by the turn of the decade and boasts a gross weight of 100,000 pounds and a 100-foot wingspan a with 400-mile range. With technological advances in battery efficiency improving by 5% to 7% annually, vehicle range will continue to increase year over year. In the commercial market, seagliders offer a low-cost yet highly efficient coastal transportation solution by connecting coastal communities with high-speed optionality. In the defense market, seagliders provide low-signature, high speed mission critical transport in littoral environments without the vulnerabilities of shore infrastructure or a fuel supply chain.
An electric-powered seaglider has many advantages over a conventionally powered seaplane, especially in the littorals where low noise and low radar signature are essential to mission success. Additionally, the vessels do not generate Infrared plumes, which could be picked up by adversarial ISR systems similar to legacy craft powered by conventional fuels.
In September 2024, I had a chance to speak with the CEO of REGENT Craft, Billy Thalheimer, to discuss this new company and to get his perspective on the commercial market as well as military uses of the new platform.
“Forty percent of the world lives in coastal communities,” Thalheimer told me. “In the commercial market, a seaglider can provide a much more rapid and cost-effective solution than traditional modes of transportation. Similarly, in the defense market, electrification dramatically reduces maintenance requirements, which in turn significantly reduces lifecycle costs.”
He continued, “We are the OEM for the seaglider, and provide not only the platform but also aftermarket maintenance and crew training support as well. The natural commercial markets for our product are airline and ferry companies and we already have more than 600 seagliders on order valued at over $9 billion. Additionally, we have a $4.75 million contract with the U.S. Marine Corps for prototype development, and we’ve raised over $90 million in venture capital”
This is a critical point as the U.S. and allies look to dual-use technologies for mission effective solutions. The robust production of seagliders for the commercial market makes them a cost-effective product for the defense market, putting downward pricing pressure on both capital expenditure as well as maintenance support costs.
Billy noted, “With the launch product, we can carry 12 passengers or 3500 pounds of payload, which is 1000 pounds more than a Cessna Caravan aircraft can carry which has similar capacity. Our operating cost is less than $1000 per hour and is nearly 60% lower than the Caravan.”
Additionally, he pointed out that the United States Coast Guard regulates seaglider operations and certification. Since seagliders are legally defined in both U.S. code and international treaty as vessels rather than airplanes, the operators of the seaglider are not pilots but instead are specially trained credentialed mariners.
“We are under maritime jurisdiction. The crew are boat captains and are not pilots. From a defense perspective, you are getting aircraft-like performance and logistics capability out of a platform that does not require to be operated by an officer who must go through a 2-year training pathway. We plan to train our captains over 12 weeks.”
Billy went on to describe the specific operations of the seaglider. “You drive this platform just like a traditional boat, and the mode transitions between floating, foiling, and flying are controlled by the triple redundant flight software and the flight control system on the vehicle. Importantly, the operator inputs vessel controls – left and right; fast and slow.”
Given the dual-use nature, this high-speed, low-signature maritime platform is essential for the new and evolving demands of littoral operations. Seagliders provide capacity for operations in a contested maritime environment in which conventional surface vessels may be in great danger.
Given the changing dynamic of capital ship vulnerability coupled with the potential for conflict in the littorals, seagliders present an affordable, reliable, and readily available solution for today’s combined and joint forces.
As such, seagliders may well contribute to mission success in this new and dynamic environment, where the allied effort must leverage low cost, highly effective platforms – rather than relying on capital ships alone.
Editor’s Note: The REGENT video below provides a projection of how their seaglider might contribute to defense operations.
U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One, conduct an MQ-9 training flight as part of Weapons and Tactics Instructor course 1-25 at Laguna Army Airfield, Arizona, Oct. 5, 2024. WTI course is a seven-week training event hosted by MAWTS-1 which emphasizes operational integration of the six functions of Marine aviation in support of the Marine Air Ground Task Force, Joint and Coalition Forces.
