Effective logistics sustainment has always been critical to military success, as echoed through history by leaders from Sun Tzu to U.S. Marine Corps General Robert Barrow. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are applying this timeless principle in modern amphibious warfare by leveraging unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to support logistics during assaults.

In the INDOPACOM Joint Exercise Valiant Shield, the Navy-Marine Corps team tested a small 12-foot MANTAS USV, successfully delivering supplies to forces ashore. Though its 54.5kg capacity was limited, it proved that unmanned systems can reduce risk to human operators and free up manned craft for other missions.

Building on this success, the Navy and Marine Corps requested a larger USV prototype for scaling up logistics capabilities. The result is the 38-foot Devil Ray (T38), capable of carrying 2041kg of supplies at a cruise speed of 25 knots. With a shallow draft of 46cm, the T38 can operate close to shore and rapidly deliver critical sustainment to forces ashore.

A formation equipped with four T38s could deliver over 8,000 kg of material per hour from amphibious ships positioned 20 nautical miles offshore—totalling more than 181,000 kg per day. This scalable, continuous resupply capability enhances the survivability and lethality of Marines engaged in beach assaults.

As the Navy and Marine Corps continue to refine this concept in upcoming exercises, other amphibious forces around the world would benefit from exploring the use of USVs for rapid, reliable logistics sustainment.

For more information on the USV’s, please Contact the BlueZone Group sales team.

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MARTAC’s Mantas T12 (Photo credit: MARTAC).