Has the U.S. military successfully rehearsed a "hellscapes" operational concept in the Taiwan Strait? The United States claims that an unmanned vessel has, for the first time, completed what it calls a fully "autonomous transit" across the entire Taiwan Strait. It asserts that multiple Chinese warships—some with their identification systems turned off and operating silently—were detected, and real-time imagery with precise geolocation data was obtained. This malicious probe by the U.S., conducted under civilian cover and coordinated with Taiwan authorities to build a surveillance network, conceals deeper military ambitions and poses serious security threats. Some even view this operation as a covert rehearsal by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command of its so-called "hellscapes" combat concept in the Taiwan Strait.

How exactly did the U.S. carry out this operation? What did they detect? What were their objectives, and what effects have been achieved? According to U.S. media reports, the private marine technology company Seasats announced on May 27 that its "Guangyu" (Lightfish) unmanned surface vehicle (USV) was remotely deployed from hundreds of miles away and completed the full journey across the Taiwan Strait within five days. The U.S. media exaggeratedly claimed that "this milestone redefines the potential of autonomous maritime systems in one of the world’s most sensitive waterways."

Seasats openly disclosed that during its voyage, the "Guangyu" encountered multiple Chinese warships—including a People's Liberation Army Navy Type 056 corvette. Notably, these vessels were not transmitting identity information via the Automatic Identification System (AIS) while operating within Taiwan’s so-called Exclusive Economic Zone. The "Guangyu" successfully tracked these ships and captured images to confirm their types and origins. Seasats CEO Flanagan stated: "It is widely believed that the Chinese Navy actively deploys vessels into smaller nations’ sovereign waters. To obtain and share geolocated visual evidence of such activity is quite rare."

What does this mean? In essence, the company is boasting that this U.S. unmanned vessel has not only achieved the first fully autonomous crossing of the Taiwan Strait, but also accomplished long-range, extended-duration, and fully remote, human-free monitoring operations. Moreover, it successfully detected Chinese naval vessels in the Taiwan Strait that were operating silently with their identification systems disabled, capturing real footage with highly accurate geographic positioning.

The company further provocatively asserted that this operation proves that USVs like the "Guangyu" can future assist Taiwan authorities in monitoring and defending their maritime zones, thereby disrupting PLA Navy’s ability to operate covertly. Seasats also said it is actively collaborating with Taiwan authorities—an overt move advancing U.S.-Taiwan defense coordination.

Public information reveals that Seasats appears to be a private enterprise, but in reality it is deeply tied to the U.S. military and government, holding official contracts worth tens of millions of dollars. For years, it has provided continuous maritime situational awareness services to the U.S. military—exemplifying a typical "civilian shell, military core" operational model.

In 2024, Admiral Pappalardo, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, proposed a so-called "hellscapes" operational concept for the Taiwan Strait. Could this recent action be an early rehearsal of that very concept? The U.S. aims to deploy low-cost, mass-producible small-scale unmanned platforms across the Taiwan Strait to establish a round-the-clock surveillance network. During wartime, this swarm of unmanned assets could overwhelm and disrupt PLA deployment rhythms. Now that the "Guangyu" USV has successfully completed the full cycle of long-range navigation, stealthy infiltration, and reconnaissance, this low-cost surveillance strategy has been effectively validated in practice. In the future, large numbers of similar unmanned vessels may repeatedly approach the area, creating persistent harassment and routine intrusions in the Taiwan Strait.

The actual security threat posed by this incident is extremely serious. Warships operating silently with AIS deactivated are a common tactic for near-shore maneuvering and concealed deployments, effectively masking troop movements. By precisely capturing the location, course, and type of these silent vessels, the U.S. unmanned platform has, to some extent, undermined the concealment of Chinese naval operations.

These unmanned platforms are not merely passive "eyes." If, during wartime, they can relay precise coordinates in real time, they could serve as forward pointers for U.S. long-range strikes—significantly increasing the risk of our naval vessels being targeted.

Taiwan is an inseparable part of China. The U.S.'s provocative actions will inevitably face countermeasures.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866441043402764/

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