During the multinational military drill Cobra Gold in Thailand, QinetiQ Target Systems Canada supplied Hammerhead unmanned surface vehicle targets to simulate maritime threats. Cobra Gold is regarded as one of the largest joint exercises conducted in the Indo-Pacific and involves cooperation between several partner nations. Military units from the Royal Thai Navy, United States Navy, United States Army, South Korean Navy, and the Republic of Singapore Navy participated in the training activities. Throughout the exercise, forces practiced detecting, tracking, and neutralizing unmanned surface threats using both surface ships and aerial assets. A total of ten Hammerhead targets were deployed across three scenarios designed to challenge the participants and test their response to unmanned maritime attacks. The targets were used to recreate multiple types of attack patterns including individual assaults and coordinated swarm operations. In the opening scenario, four vehicles simulated fast inshore attack craft advancing toward a coastal beachhead, representing a possible assault situation. These vessels were launched and recovered at sea with assistance from the Royal Thai Navy while remote operators controlled them from shore. In later phases of the drill, all ten Hammerhead targets were launched from a Thai naval vessel and controlled remotely. During these scenarios, the unmanned vehicles simulated explosive-laden boats similar to those increasingly observed in recent maritime security incidents. The exercise provided valuable training for participating forces and helped improve coordination in responding to emerging unmanned threats at sea.
