In June, two U.S. Army Apache crewmen ejected from their gunship and landed in contested waters in the Strait of Hormuz. Their rescue became the immediate priority of American armed forces. Teams from the Navy, the Air Force, and the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division stepped in to assist. Within two hours, Navy Task Force 59 deployed a 24-foot Corsair speed boat, which located the stranded crewmen. When the relieved service members climbed aboard the Corsair, they discovered something surprising: they were alone. Their rescue boat was a remotely piloted unmanned vessel, sailing through the seas without a captain or crew onboard.

U.S. Military Adapts

The episode illustrates a new era in warfare—an unmanned search-and-rescue mission. These kinds of ships had already been deployed to strike enemy targets, conduct reconnaissance, and clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines. But now more than ever, robotics, drones, and other unmanned systems are reshaping the battlefield. I serve as the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I am working to help the U.S. military keep pace with this evolving defense technology.

To that end, my committee colleagues and I recently voted to approve a plan that would create a new Pentagon command focused on these unmanned tools. Called the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Combatant Command, or RASCOM, the office would be led by a four-star officer.

The plan authorizes the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force to establish offices in RASCOM, ensuring that all service branches adopt the latest systems. RASCOM is not designed to be a standalone fighting force. It would primarily support the geographic commands—the military leaders in charge of our forces in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

This cross-collaboration would ensure that units like Task Force 59 are no longer treated as temporary job assignments. RASCOM would give service members new opportunities for career growth and technical development. It would standardize the way the entire armed services use unmanned systems in combat, and it would help service branches work effectively with each other when using robotics and drones. In 1986, Congress created Special Operations Command. I believe we will see similar success stories with RASCOM.

Mississippi Stands Ready to Assist

Mississippi is ready to help RASCOM fulfill this important mission. Up and down the state, we are developing, testing, and manufacturing unmanned systems that traverse the land, air, and seas.

Our research universities have created an experimentation and innovation environment that fuels this work. Mississippi State University is a national leader in unmanned aerial systems, and it produces remarkable ground-based vehicles—including the famous remotely driven Bully Car, which carries the school’s mascot onto the field before every football game. At Jackson State University, researchers are partnering with the Air Force to develop autonomous systems. The University of Mississippi School of Law is helping develop a legal framework for air and space law, including laws that govern unmanned platforms. And the University of Southern Mississippi has partnered with industry and military officials to pioneer unmanned systems that can patrol, explore, and map the seas and the ocean floor.

Even our high schoolers are getting involved. In 2024 and 2025, Mississippi hosted the National All-Service Aerial Drone Championship for the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Teams from several Mississippi high schools competed, showing off our state’s skills and preparing these future leaders to help solve the latest challenges in American national defense.

All of this has facilitated increasing commercial activity in the state. Numerous robotics companies have moved to Mississippi. Saronic, which builds the 24-foot Corsair used in the Strait of Hormuz, is announcing facility expansions in Mississippi as well. These companies are advancing the horizons of new technologies while creating rewarding and well-paying jobs. As warfare changes, Mississippi is adapting, too. We will continue innovating and manufacturing to keep America on the cutting edge.