US swarm against China

Turning warships into drone launch pads

The US Navy has been conducting experiments with Raytheon's Coyote decoy munition for several years.(Bild: USN)

Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Israel's war in Gaza, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea: we are living in uncertain times and the military is keeping a close eye on how new technologies are changing the balance of power. Sometimes this leads to a reassessment of weapons systems that were thought to be tried and tested. The fact that Russia has to keep its Black Sea fleet away from the Ukrainian coast due to explosive kamikaze drone boats has even led to a debate in the USA about the concept of the warship itself.

Countries with strong naval forces have so far protected their ships primarily against attacks with expensive anti-ship missiles. Their destructive power is considerable; Ukraine sank Putin's Black Sea flagship with its own "Neptune". However, the threat situation has recently changed and Ukraine is causing greater concern for the Russian fleet with kamikaze drone boats than with missiles. They are cheap, have a long range and attack as a swarm. Several Russian ships have been sunk or now have to be repaired for months. The US has been closely monitoring the incidents - and now wants to modernize its own navy for the drone era. Washington's solution: even more drones.