This is CBSI in the world. I'm John Bats with Patrick Tucker, the technology editor,

the future-looking technology editor of Defense One. The US Navy looking at drone experiments.

Why? Because the Chinese are building a massive fleet, and the question is what is to be

done? A mixture of manned and unmanned platforms. Quote that Patrick provides from the Navy

Secretary-Colors' Tautoral. The technologies and platforms we are bringing to the region,

that is, the Pacific. In this instance, it would be the South America part of the Pacific.

Our bringing to the region will address several significant challenges. What are the challenges

in the Pacific right now for the US Navy that the Navy believes drones can answer, Patrick?

You know, the Navy is very focused right now on China and Taiwan, but in terms of expanding the way

sailors are operating with unmanned systems, with boat drones, ship drones, air drones, obviously,

undersea things. Admiral Guilde, the chief naval officer and Secretary-of-Doltoro,

emphasized that they want to do some experimentation before they start deploying that stuff near China.

They're looking at South America as well as the Middle East a little bit. They've already been doing

some of this in the Middle East, but expanding that to South America. But it's still focused on China,

and here's why China has a lot of what are sometimes called gray zone activities, taking place in South

America, including illegal fishing. There's also smuggling, etc. And that is something that is going

to become part of the growing conversation around Taiwan, because you're seeing China use merchant ships,

use illegal fishing as a way to bully people in the Pacific, but it's not unique to the Pacific.

So South America provides this really great opportunity to start deploying some of these unmanned

platforms. Again, to collect data, to have a better situational awareness of the environment,

who's coming in, how often they come in, learn to identify ships that might be engaged in

smuggling activity, learn to identify which ones might be doing illegal fishing, and also working

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