CENTCOM is Now a Crucial Battle Lab for Unmanned Systems
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When a U.S. Army helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz in June, the Navy’s unmanned Corsair joined the search for the crew.
Operated by U.S. 5th Fleet’s Task Force 59, the vessel helped recover two U.S. service members.
One month later, three Corsairs shifted from rescue to attack, striking a submarine and ship maintenance facility at Iran’s Bandar Abbas naval base.
CENTCOM confirmed the mission marked the “first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations,” demonstrating how quickly unmanned systems have moved beyond experiments and exercises.
A U.S. official told Military Times that American forces now use unmanned systems “on, above, and below [the sea],” to support military objectives.
The official said the systems have been effective, especially in reducing risk to U.S. forces personnel.
Joshua Tallis, director of Ally and Partner Security Affairs at the Center for Naval Analyses, said combat use gives the Navy an “unrivaled opportunity” to learn how to command and deploy robotic systems.
He said the service can also refine their deployment, employment and sustainment.
Image Credit: DoW
ATLANTIC OCEAN (Sep. 23, 2025) A U.S. Navy Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC) maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean during UNITAS 2025, the 66th iteration of the world’s longest-running multinational maritime exercise. Unmanned and remotely operated vehicles and vessels extend the capability of interconnected manned platform sensors to enhance capacity across the multinational force. UNITAS, Latin for Unity, focuses on enhanced interoperability, building regional partnerships, and demonstrating U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet as the trusted maritime partner in the Caribbean, Central and South America. UNITAS 2025 also leads off a series of events celebrating the U.S. Navy 250th Birthday. (Official U.S. Navy photo)
The Navy launched Task Force 59 in 2021 to accelerate the integration of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into Middle East operations.
The task force used unmanned platforms to broaden maritime awareness and operate alongside crewed ships and aircraft.
During a 2022 exercise, unmanned vessels identified training targets and passed information to command centers ashore. The Navy said those additional sensors could help position crewed ships to respond more rapidly.
By 2024, the Navy had created Task Group 59.1 to concentrate on operationally deploying unmanned systems teamed with manned operators.
Task Force 59 personnel participated in more than 30 exercises and operations under the task force’s previous commander, according to the Navy.
The Navy’s February 2026 Fighting Instructions assign specific jobs to unmanned platforms.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle described medium unmanned surface vessels as designed for “scouting, screening, and striking,” while identifying unmanned underwater vehicles for water space denial, surveys and mine warfare.
The guidance also calls for attritable and easily replenishable unmanned surface vessels as part of the fleet’s force design.
That Navy effort is unfolding alongside a separate CENTCOM drive to place unmanned systems directly into combat.
In December 2025, CENTCOM established Task Force Scorpion Strike as the military’s first dedicated one way attack drone squadron in the Middle East.
Image Credit: DoW
A Seahawk medium displacement unmanned surface vessel steams through the Pacific Ocean during the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Integrated Battle Problem 23.1. (MCS2 Lake Fultz/U.S. Navy)
The task force employed low cost one way attack drones during Operation Epic Fury, while CENTCOM used unmanned attack vessels during the July strikes on Iranian port facilities.
CENTCOM announced plans in August for Task Force Falcon Strike, a multinational and multidomain attack drone task force.
CENTCOM said it would use one way attack drones from above, on and below the sea while expanding regional attack drone capabilities with partner nations.
The Fighting Instructions also anticipate manned and unmanned units operating with different levels of independence.
Caudle said the Navy will use “Delegated Autonomy Levels” to define “what a unit manned or unmanned can do independently,” based partly on sensing the battlespace, synthesizing relevant information and delivering effects without waiting for higher headquarters.
Combat creates tougher demands, including sustained communications, extended operations, navigation through contested waters and continued usefulness while an adversary actively interferes.
Tallis cautioned that public examples from the conflict should be treated as “an iterative learning moment, not a fully formed vision of the future fight.”
Cost remains unresolved. Tallis said open source estimates place a Corsair at about $1.1 million, raising questions about when an unmanned system qualifies as “attritable,” “consumable” or “expendable.”
The conflict has also exposed risks in contested waters. Iran said in September that it captured a malfunctioning Anduril Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle, while CENTCOM said the older model carried no classified sonar or radar equipment and collected no sensitive data.
More recently, CENTCOM said two Iranian boats attempted to seize a U.S. Saildrone unmanned surface vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. forces destroyed the boats.
Tallis said surveillance remains a strong role, but evidence is insufficient to show meaningful change in unmanned surface vessel strikes, while search and rescue may require platforms positioned throughout a theater for rapid response.
