In the early 2000s, Latin American drug cartels developed a new tactic for sneaking large quantities of illicit drugs into the United States. They built custom boats which were semi-submersible – that is, almost the entire craft was underwater with only a very minimal structure above the waves – with the aim of evading detection by US security forces. A few smuggling vessels were constructed with the capability to fully submerge, though this never became common.
These semi-submersible “narco-subs” or “narco-boats” don’t always work: the US Navy and US Coast Guard routinely intercept them, and the Royal Navy caught one earlier this month. But the underlying idea – stealth by low profile – is sound. So sound that the US Marine Corps is trying to copy it for one of its most important missions: resupplying far-flung island outposts during a possible war with China.
The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory recently began testing, off the coast of California, a pair of 55-foot, robotic semi-submersibles.
“Truth be told, this is just a narco-boat,” said Brigadier General Simon Doran. “We stole the idea from friends down south.”