The U.S. is planning to upgrade a Philippine naval base crucial for Manila’s South China Sea operations with a maintenance facility capable of supporting unmanned surface vessels, according to documents.
Naval Detachment Oyster Bay is home to Cyclone-class patrol ships, fast attack boats, Philippine Marine maritime units and resupply vessels dedicated to ferrying supplies and personnel to Manila’s outposts in the disputed waters. Its strategic location on the coast of Western Palawan offers forces deployed at Oyster Bay the ability to reach Philippine outposts faster than previous staging points on the province’s eastern ports.
A U.S. government notice released last month detailed an American-funded boat repair facility at the remote base for the maintenance of Philippine government vessels. The document was recently modified to include drone boats of the same specifications that Washington previously provided to Manila, specifically the Maritime Tactical Systems Devil Ray T-38.
“The building’s structure, air conditioning, and electrical systems shall support various Host Nation (HN) vessels, including 11.6m (38ft) unmanned surface vessels (USVs),” reads the project notice.
Aside from the maintenance facility, the upgrade also tackles existing infrastructure issues at Oyster Bay. The Pentagon expects to issue a contract for the project within the next two months.
A series of spats between the Philippines and China over maritime features within the Philippine exclusive economic zone between 2023 and 2024 prompted the U.S. to increase defense cooperation, bolstering bilateral military drills and equipment support to America’s only Southeast Asian defense treaty ally. The supply of the Devil Ray T-38 and four MANTAS T-12 unmanned surface vessels to improve Philippine maritime domain awareness in the South China Sea has been one of the most significant developments between the two allies. he Philippine Navy has highlighted the transfer, supported by a forward-deployed American military task force to train Philippine drone operators, in the country’s fleet modernization efforts.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth highlighted unmanned surface vessel operations during his visit to Manila earlier this year, emphasizing joint training with the systems at Balikatan 2025. The Maritime Security Consortium, a public-private initiative that aims to provide up to $95 million annually in readily available unmanned systems to states across Southeast Asia, identified this year’s iteration of Balikatan as a venue to demonstrate the how unmanned systems can meet “pressing maritime security challenges.”
During a visit to Palawan in November, former U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he expected to see more drone boat transfers to the Philippines.
Washington and Manila’s joint defense industrial base vision, which seeks to support Philippine industries developing the country’s self-reliant defense posture, identified unmanned systems as a priority area “with the greatest potential for near-term cooperation.”
