Off the coast of the Philippines, an American naval drone approached a Chinese destroyer
The American company Seasats stated that its civilian maritime drone, Lightfish, approached a Chinese military vessel that was in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. This is the first video of its kind released by a private American company.
According to the agency, the incident occurred on June 16 near the island of Luzon.
The Lightfish maritime drone approached a Type 052D guided-missile destroyer of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy and filmed it.
Reuters journalists later confirmed the location of the footage—approximately 105 kilometers northwest of Luzon Island—and verified the date using the metadata from the original video file.
Reuters notes that what is particularly noteworthy is not only the fact of the video recording itself, but also the changing nature of modern warfare.
According to the agency’s estimates, a maritime drone costing about $240,000 was able to approach a warship worth about $1 billion, potentially demonstrating new capabilities of unmanned systems.
“We can go out to sea, shoot video, get very close, and collect all the necessary data on the Chinese ship,” said Seasats CEO Mike Flanigan.
The company reports that Lightfish is the smallest maritime drone in its lineup.
It can be launched from the bed of a pickup truck, a small vessel, or a special ramp, and only one or two people are needed for transport and launch.
The drone is capable of operating autonomously for several months.
The Philippine Coast Guard stated that last year, the presence of Chinese military ships in the area increased significantly compared to 2024.
For its part, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged avoiding dangerous close encounters with Chinese military ships, warning that this could lead to accidental incidents at sea or in the air.
The Philippine Embassy also emphasized the need to avoid actions that could provoke further escalation of tensions, especially in cases of a possible violation of the country’s exclusive economic zone.
The company reported that in recent years, its maritime drones have repeatedly encountered Chinese Navy vessels, including Type 052 and Type 055 destroyers, as well as Type 056 corvettes.
This was reported by Reuters.
The Philippines recently officially confirmed its intention to purchase five used Japanese Abukuma-class escort destroyers. The ships are expected to bolster the country’s naval capabilities amid growing tensions in the South China Sea.
