U.S. Asymmetric Aid Program Transfers Unmanned Vessels to the Philippines, Plans Attack Drone Transfer by 2027

system · June 25, 2026, 2:29am

The United States has initiated the transfer of unmanned surface and underwater vessels to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) under a security assistance initiative designed to enhance asymmetric capabilities in the South China Sea. On June 22, 2026, the U.S. government delivered four Ocean Aero Triton autonomous underwater and surface vehicles (AUSVs) to the Philippine Navy at the Naval Operating Base Subic, valued at approximately $13 million (Lariosa, 2026a; U.S. Embassy Manila, 2026). The solar-powered Triton drones are capable of operating for up to 30 days to collect data both above and below the ocean’s surface via a resilient mesh network (U.S. Embassy Manila, 2026).

The drone-focused asymmetric capabilities program outlines U.S. plans to arm Manila with “lethal capabilities,” including armed drones, by 2027 (Lariosa, 2026a). The program initially focused on the Philippine Navy, which established an unmanned surface vessel unit in 2024, but has expanded to include the Philippine Marine Corps and Army (Lariosa, 2026a).

U.S. and Philippine planners aim to deploy these drones as part of a larger mesh network of unmanned systems and sensors to detect and track maritime activities, aiding Manila’s forces against China’s territorial claims over the South China Sea (Lariosa, 2026a). The Armed Forces of the Philippines is shifting its focus from counter-insurgency operations to external threats, necessitating new procurement, command and control, and maritime operations capabilities (Lariosa, 2026a).

Recent military exercises have demonstrated the integration of these systems. During Balikatan 2026, U.S. Army Green Berets deployed an explosive-laden unmanned surface vessel, derived from the Ukrainian Magura class, to sink a target vessel in the Luzon Strait — the first live maritime strike drill in the history of the U.S.-Philippine alliance in that waterway (Lariosa, 2026b). Additionally, during the Salaknib exercise, the U.S. Army utilized HavocAI’s Rampage autonomous surface vessels to establish a maritime security screen for logistics craft in Casiguran Sound (Lariosa, 2026c).

Legislative efforts in the United States support these initiatives. The Senate Armed Services Committee’s markup for the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes the First Island Chain Security Cooperation Initiative, replacing the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, and authorizes up to $1.5 billion in assistance to be shared between Taipei and Manila for fiscal year 2027 (Lariosa, 2026d). This follows a $2.5 billion authorization in December 2025 under the Philippine Enhanced Resilience Act (Lariosa, 2026d). Taiwan has also deployed approximately 2,000 American-made Altius-600 loitering munitions from Anduril Industries in live-fire drills targeting maritime threats, reflecting a broader first island chain trend toward unmanned mass (Lariosa, 2026e).