Like the Q-ships of World War II, which drew in unsuspecting German U-Boats, the PALID’s developers hope a hostile warship will overlook the threat it poses—until it is too late.
Filipino engineers from the Mindanao State University have unveiled a model of a “kamikaze drone” boat made to look like a civilian craft. The Philippine Autonomous Littoral Interdiction Drone (PALID) was made possible by a research grant from the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development. A prototype craft is under construction. The model was displayed at the Philippine Navy’s inaugural Self Reliance Defense Posture (SRDP) summit in Manila on July 30.
Captain Gregory Fabic, Chief of Naval Staff for Civil Military Operations, noted that drones dominated the summit, since they are the Philippine Navy’s primary focus right now. This falls in line with the Navy’s slant toward asymmetric and unconventional naval operations.
“We cannot go conventional with, let’s say, for example, China,” said Department of National Defense Assistant Secretary Augusto Gaite, citing Beijing’s enormous naval budget and the size of its fleet. “But what would give us an edge for…confrontation would be something like asymmetric [capabilities]. So that’s the technology that we have to have.”
The PALID Is a Kamikaze Drone Disguised as a Fishing Boat
The PALID unmanned surface vessel (USV) is designed to be a suicide drone disguised as a civilian boat. In effect, the drone’s design mimics that of a Q-ship—an Allied naval vessel during World War II disguised as an unarmed merchant ship—on a much smaller scale. Like the Q-ships, which drew in unsuspecting German U-Boats, the PALID’s developers hope that a hostile warship will overlook the threat it poses—until it is too late to counter.
The PALID USV will have a maximum displacement of 1,433 pounds and carry 31.7 gallons of gasoline, though it will also feature a bank of batteries designed for 48 hours of propulsion without fuel. The payload will be a 330-pound high explosive bomb. The Starlink satellite system enables virtually unlimited control range. The PALID USV’s external dimensions and speed are unknown at this time, and will likely evolve as the prototype develops; the drone is expected to enter regular service within two years.
The idea, as with many autonomous drone systems, is to target high-value enemy assets like warships with low-cost, unmanned weapons that can nonetheless damage their targets and degrade or neutralize their effectiveness. Even if the drone could not sink an enemy ship altogether, taking out its rudder or radar capability would significantly affect its ability to perform its mission—or survive future attacks.
The Mindanao State University development team also envisions the PALID USV in a reconnaissance and surveillance role. The autonomous capability, range, and satellite communications make it ideal for high-risk missions in an active maritime environment.
The Philippines’ Asymmetrical Approach to Sea Warfare
Faced with sometimes overt Chinese naval harassment in the South China Sea, the Philippines are turning to autonomous systems to level the playing field. The small island nation cannot hope to compete with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) on a ship-by-ship basis, even with American support. Neither can the Philippines rival Chinese deployment of missiles in the disputed area. Chinese Coast Guard vessels have recently been seen off Luzon’s coast, closer than ever before.
So, as with many other small nations faced with a large, powerful foe, other means must prevail. Unconventional warfare often blurs the lines between the accepted rules of war and expediency, and disguising military craft as civilian boats certainly does that. Any future conflict employing the PALID USV will force the adversary nation to make a stark choice in terms of its response to PALID boats and actual civilian craft that may be in a given area. The maritime environment in which such a conflict must necessarily play out all but guarantees such a dilemma.
But numerous small nations have been forced to chart unconventional paths merely to survive. The PALID USV seems a promising concept in a world suddenly swimming in autonomous systems. Swarms of small, explosive-laden boats may prove as effective on the high seas as aerial drone swarms have become in Ukraine. Either way, that an “all-of-the-above” approach to autonomous combat systems is necessary has become abundantly clear, as the United States is learning amid its own rush to develop them.
About the Author: William Lawson
William Lawson is a military historian focusing on World War II and 20th century conflicts and the American Civil War. His specialty is operational level warfare, especially American amphibious doctrine. He writes on history, politics, and firearms for multiple publications and historical journals. He serves on the editorial advisory board for the Saber & Scroll Journal and Military History Chronicles and is a member of the Society for Military History and the American Historical Association. Lawson is based in Virginia.
Image: Shutterstock / christianthiel.net.
