The United States military is betting on a new technology to help retain its edge as china build up its presence in the South China Sea, one reclaimed island at a time.
During the past six months, the pentagon has started to talk publicly about a once-secret program to develop unmanned undersea vehicles, the term given to the submarine drones that are becoming part of its plan to deter China from trying to dominate the region.
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, made special mention of drone subs in a speech about military strategy in Asia and hinted at their potential use in the South China Sea, which has large areas of shallower water.
Mr. Carter said, the Pentagon’s investment in subs “includes new undersea drones in multiple sizes and diverse payloads that can, importantly, operate in shallow water, where manned submarines cannot”.
As military competition intensifies in the western pacific between the US and China, submarines have become one of the key areas. China’s heavy investment in missiles has put at risk US land-based forces in the region and some of its surface vessels.
As a result the US is investing 8 billion dollars next year in submarines.
Secretary Carter said this to ensure that theirs is the most lethal and most advanced undersea and anti-submarine force in the world.
