Sea Machines looks to provide contracted military and commercial services to the Philippines via a SELKIE USV stationed at Subic Bay.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Sea Machines, an American firm specializing in the development of autonomous systems, has deployed its SELKIE unmanned surface vessel (USV) to Subic Bay in a bid to Philippine commercial and military operators for operations across the archipelago and beyond.
The USV arrived in the Southeast Asian nation earlier this year from Europe amid Manila’s latest phase of military modernization and the Philippine Navy’s interest in unmanned capabilities for maritime domain awareness.
“SELKIE is ready to operate and serve as a force multiplier for increased domain awareness and enhanced productivity. By offering an unmanned asset with American technology with secure communications and AI-enhanced sensing, SELKIE can support combined operations, joint training, and rapid response scenarios that deepen alliance coordination,” a Sea Machines spokesperson told Naval News.
With an operational range of up to 500 nautical miles and an endurance of 30 days, SELKIE’s existing configuration is primarily equipped toward intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and maritime survey missions. Its mission bay can support two euro pallets worth of capabilities, including sonar and unmanned aerial vehicles. Company specifications claim the seven-meter-long boat could operate in sea state 5, with one Sea Machines representative stating that these features “meet the Philippines’ needs for cost-efficient, persistent maritime security across vast and contested waters.”
The company’s SM300 autonomy package, a command and control system chosen to operate the U.S. Marine Corps Autonomous Low-Profile Vessels, allows the USV to be completely autonomous. A live demonstration was held on the showfloor of Philippine Marine 2025 for Naval News, which saw SELKIE 7 deploy from a pier for manuevers around Subic Bay. While Starlink is the primary link between the drone boat and its operators, Eridium and LTE networks provide another source for communication, and were utilized during the demonstration.
A dedicated SELKIE operations team has been staged in Subic Bay, a former American naval base strategically positioned on the South China Sea. A company contractor, who previously worked in offshore vessel operations, held multiple demonstrations of the drone’s autonomous capability between the Subic Bay port and the ex-Naval Supply Depot. Sea Machines claimed that the shipping container-deployed USV can be controlled from anywhere in the Philippines from the Subic Bay control center.
“Subic Bay offers ideal infrastructure for USV operations: deep water access, sheltered harbor, established logistics, and proximity to key maritime corridors and contested areas in the West Philippine Sea,” a Sea Machines representative explained to Naval News.
The Philippine Navy’s Unmanned Surface Vessel Unit One is based across the bay at Naval Operating Base Subic. Equipped with Maritime Tactical Systems MANTAS T-12 and Devil Ray T-38 drones, the unit has deployed its unmanned capabilities to the South China Sea and alongside American special operation forces during bilateral exercises.
The company’s initial offering advertises SELKIE as a contractor-owned, contractor-operated service for clients. While the exact rates are unclear, due to mission sets and potential operating locations in the Philippine archipelago or the South China Sea, a company official told Naval News that contracts can be negotiated. According to Sea Machines, their “ultimate goal” with SELKIE’s contracted deployment is to “make the technology accessible to our partners in the Philippines and to remove the barriers of using it.”
Sea Machines is actively exploring licensed co-production of SELKIE with a local partner in the Philippines via a joint venture following a request by an unspecified entity. A company representative claimed that many shipyards could support the construction of the USV due to its commercial nature. The USV can also be modified to support additional capabilities depending on customer specifications.
Unmanned capabilities, specifically USVs, are a frequently highlighted point of cooperation and development between Washington and Manila amid increased defense relations following tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea and Luzon Strait. American-provided MARTAC drones were highlighted as crucial maritime domain awareness boosters for the Philippine Navy last fall. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stressed USV training during his first visit to the region in Manila.
Washington also plans to construct facilities capable of support USV operations at a Philippine Navy base in Western Palawan bordering the South China Sea via an upcoming military construction project, with specifications aligning with American drones currently in use by Manila.
While no clients were specified, a Sea Machines spokesperson told Naval News that the company expected to see SELKIE “at work soon.”
