By Commander Jennifer Parker*
As tensions across the South China Sea and the Pacific rise; terms such as ‘greyzone’ and ‘Freedom of Navigation’ have become common parlance, giving rise to the question as to whether maritime conflict is on the horizon. These uncertain geopolitical developments, occur against a backdrop of flailing international law in the realm of Naval Warfare that has not reached a consensus agreement in over a century. Sailing into this messy cauldron of heightened tension and dated conventions, is the United States Navy’s Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle (LUSV). The LUSV is the size of a conventional corvette but loaded with strike capability to attack targets both at sea and on land. Its proposed existence begs the question as to whether current international law is adequate to regulate this capability. Using the LUSV as a case study, this article will examine the potential operations of this capability in peacetime, international armed conflicts and non-international armed conflict to address the question of whether international law is ready to deal with the introduction of this capability.¶
