The US Navy (USN) has successfully launched its Lightfish uncrewed surface vessel (USV) from a partner country’s ship for the first time, US Sixth Fleet public affairs has announced.
The launch took place on 9 February by the USN’s Commander Task Force (CTF) 66 unit, working in partnership with Seychelles’ naval forces during a training serial held as part of the ‘Cutlass Express 2026’ exercise in the Indian Ocean.
The serial was designed to test Lightfish’s capabilities in an open-ocean environment with limited connectivity. Lightfish is a low-profile, solar-powered USV for long-endurance missions. Launching the vessel from a partner’s platform demonstrates the capacity to deploy such a sustainable capability more widely, in geostrategic terms.
“Through exercises such as ‘Cutlass Express 2026’, we are adapting alongside our partners by integrating uncrewed tactics directly into operations,” Rear Admiral Kelly Ward, Commander CTF 66, said in the Sixth Fleet statement. “We are leaning into this domain hand-in-hand with our partners, translating innovation into warfighting readiness and enhancing maritime security to protect freedom of navigation.”
The exercise was designed to demonstrate how working with maritime partners to develop uncrewed capability can enhance warfighting outputs, Lieutenant Bryna Loranger, CTF 66’s operations officer, added. “Sixth Fleet is seeking new ways to build partner maritime domain awareness capabilities during this exercise by promoting interoperability. Through sharing and experimenting with Seychelles coastguard assets and infrastructure, we are enhancing our expeditionary robotic and autonomous system capabilities in the US Africa Command area of responsibility (AOR).”
For ‘Cutlass Express 2026’, 19 allies and partners came together to conduct shore-based training exercises tackling real-world scenarios, including visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS), maritime interdiction, and counter-illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing procedures.
In its statement, Sixth Fleet said exercises like ‘Cutlass Express’ enable CTF 66 to leverage collaboration with partners and allies to prepare for operating uncrewed systems at scale and for deploying assets to host countries ahead of anticipated need, thereby generating capability at readiness in areas of operations.
CTF 66 is a maritime uncrewed systems task force responsible for the advanced technology innovation, development, integration, and operation of remote and autonomous uncrewed capabilities, providing all-domain uncrewed system presence, deterrence, and lethality across the AORs of the US European and Africa commands.
Established in May 2024, CTF 66 is the USN’s second operational task force dedicated to developing maritime uncrewed system capabilities. It currently maintains a fleet of 22 USVs. Task Force 59 (TF 59), operating under the US Fifth Fleet in the Gulf, was the first task force established to develop and deliver such capability. US Fourth Fleet, focused on the Caribbean and Latin American regions, is another organisation developing such capability.
by Dr. Lee Willett
