Reuters: U.S. Naval Drone Approached A Chinese Destroyer

Details of the incident have been revealed.

Seasats, an American manufacturer of maritime drones, stated that one of its civilian drones approached a Chinese military vessel operating in the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

According to Reuters, this is the first video of its kind captured by a private American company. The incident occurred on June 16.

It is noted that the Lightfish drone approached a People’s Liberation Army Navy ship off the coast of Luzon. The Lightfish is the smallest vessel in the current Seasats lineup; it can be deployed from the bed of a pickup truck, a small vessel, or a boat ramp, and can be launched and retrieved in a matter of minutes. The drone can be carried and launched by one or two people, and it is designed to operate for several months at a time.

The agency noted that the Seasats footage is impressive not so much because it captures a Chinese vessel, but because it reveals a shift in the nature of warfare: a small drone costing about $240,000 can approach a warship worth a billion dollars—and theoretically pose a threat to it. In this case, the vessel in question was a Type 052D guided-missile destroyer of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.

“We can go out on the street, film a video, get right up close, and record all this data from the Chinese ship,” said Seasats CEO Mike Flanigan.

The location where the video was filmed was confirmed by reviewing Seasats data as 105 km (65 miles) northwest of Luzon Island. The date was verified using the source file’s metadata.

The Philippine Coast Guard reported an increase in the presence of Chinese naval forces, including military ships, in the area last year compared to 2024.

At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged people to avoid approaching their naval vessels at close range, as this could lead to accidental incidents at sea or in the air.

The Philippine Embassy stated that it would “remind all parties of the need to avoid actions that could lead to an escalation of tensions, especially if they are caught violating the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.”

Meanwhile, Seasats stated that over the years it has repeatedly encountered Chinese naval vessels, including Type 052 destroyers, Type 055 destroyers, and Type 056 corvettes.

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