PH acquires 4 autonomous vehicles for maritime surveillance from US

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has acquired four US-donated autonomous underwater and surface vehicles worth about P754 million, giving the military a new unmanned capability to boost maritime surveillance and domain awareness in the country’s waters, officials said Tuesday.

The United States transferred the four Ocean Aero Triton autonomous underwater and surface vehicles (AUSVs) to the AFP during a turnover ceremony on Monday at the Philippine Navy’s Naval Operating Base in Subic Bay, Zambales, according to the US Embassy.

Philippine Navy spokesperson Capt. Marissa Martinez said the systems would enhance maritime domain awareness efforts not only of the Navy but of the entire AFP.

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“The unmanned systems are not only surface unmanned systems but also underwater unmanned systems, and this will contribute to maritime domain awareness not only of the Philippine Navy but also of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Martinez said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

She said the platforms form part of the modernization efforts of both the Navy and the AFP.

According to the US Embassy, the Triton AUSVs are capable of collecting data above and below the ocean’s surface through a mesh network.

The embassy said the solar-powered systems can operate for up to 30 days, providing long-endurance monitoring capabilities. It added that the systems are intended to enhance the Philippines’ ability to detect and respond to maritime challenges and illegal maritime activities.

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The turnover comes as Manila continues to bolster its maritime and territorial defense capabilities amid recurring friction between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

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Beijing claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, waters in the western portion of the country’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone. It continues to ignore a 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal that nullified its claims and upheld Manila’s sovereign rights over these waters.

US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Bridgette Walker said the vehicles would help expand the Philippine Navy’s monitoring capabilities in critical waterways.

“The ability to monitor and respond to maritime challenges — illegal fishing, gray zone activities, and threats to freedom of navigation — requires persistent, long-endurance awareness that no single ship or aircraft can provide alone,” Walker said during the turnover ceremony in Subic, Zambales.

“The Triton fills that gap by expanding the capabilities of the Philippine Navy into critical waterways,” she added.

Martinez said the locations where the systems would be deployed have yet to be determined and would depend on operational requirements identified by the AFP’s geographic commands.

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“It will depend on the operational requirements and priorities of the geographical commanders,” she said.

Asked whether the Tritons were the first such systems acquired by the Philippines, Martinez said the donation formed part of continuing US support under bilateral defense cooperation arrangements.

“For the previous years, there had been donations by the United States, so it is a continuous modernization effort,” she said.

The US Embassy said the transfer highlights efforts by Washington and Manila to strengthen alliance modernization and support the AFP’s transition toward territorial defense.

Col. Daniel Oh, the US Embassy’s senior defense official and chief of the Joint US Military Assistance Group-Philippines, said the unmanned systems would improve awareness in critical waterways.

“These unmanned capabilities support the AFP’s transition to territorial defense and improve awareness in critical waterways,” Oh said in a statement released by the embassy.

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The Philippines and the United States, treaty allies under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, have expanded defense cooperation in recent years through military assistance, joint exercises and modernization initiatives. /dl