Hybrid Theory: Multi-Domain Unmanned Systems are Blurring Maritime Boundaries

[2031: Somewhere in the Luzon Strait]

Under cover of darkness, an elite team of Navy SEALs reaches an uninhabited island and moves inland. Fifty km out to sea, a flotilla of autonomous underwater and surface vehicles (AUSVs) shifts between the surface and the safety of the deep, keeping a stealthy, unblinking eye on enemy fleet movements and transmitting near-real-time intelligence to USINDOPACOM and the embarked SEALs.From behind the beach, a small amphibious quadcopter takes to the sky, traveling ten km offshore where it descends, lands on the water’s surface, and submerges, its onboard acoustic modem broadcasting a single high-frequency message to an object resting quietly on the seabed - NOW. As the drone reemerges and climbs back into the sky, a prepositioned cargo trimaran rises slowly through the water column, breaks the surface, and begins its wind-driven journey toward shore. On reaching the surf zone, SEALs slip from behind the rocks to haul the vessel onto the beach and recover its payload of provisions and power modules before dismantling and concealing it among the weathered landscape. Meanwhile, a flotilla of autonomous low-profile vessels (ALPVs) is inbound from Guam, loaded down with four-ton payloads comprised of modular autonomous air, underwater, and