The age-old maritime security dilemma seemed insurmountable: How does a smaller nation defend vast ocean territories against adversaries with overwhelming naval power?

For decades, the answer appeared to be “they can’t” – at least not without bankrupting themselves trying to match destroyers and aircraft carriers ship-for-ship.

But a revolutionary approach called “Porcupine Defense” is fundamentally changing that equation, and nowhere is this transformation more evident than in the waters surrounding the Philippines’ 7,000+ islands.

Former Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne captured the essence of this new strategy perfectly: Think of it like a porcupine. Instead of relying on a few high-value naval assets that represent single points of failure, porcupine defense creates “multiple bristling quills” or numerous dispersed threats that an adversary simply cannot easily neutralize or ignore.

This isn’t just a tactical shift; it’s a complete reimagining of maritime deterrence. Rather than attempting the impossible task of matching larger fleets ship-for-ship, smaller nations can deploy networks of autonomous systems that create incredible resilience at a fraction of the cost.

The strategic brilliance lies in flipping the cost-benefit analysis. An adversary must now contend with dozens or hundreds of smaller threats rather than a few large targets. Suddenly, what seemed like geographic vulnerabilities like the Philippines’ scattered archipelago transform into strategic advantages.

At the heart of this transformation is breakthrough technology from MARTAC, a company founded by brothers Tom and Bruce Hansen. Their journey from holding world speed records in catamaran racing to revolutionizing naval warfare illustrates how innovative thinking can emerge from unexpected places.

Every MARTAC vessel shares the same core DNA:

• True Autonomy: These aren’t remotely piloted boats requiring constant human input. They’re genuinely autonomous systems capable of independent operation for extended periods.
• Catamaran Advantage: The twin-hull design provides superior stability and speed, crucial for carrying sensitive electronics through choppy seas. Built from carbon fiber, these vessels can launch from standard Navy RHIB launchers, making integration seamless.
• Gator Stealth Mode: Perhaps the most striking innovation – certain vessels can sink themselves almost entirely underwater, leaving only the mast visible. This allows them to loiter near potential target areas virtually undetected.
• Modular Architecture: Components and designs scale proportionally across different platform sizes, streamlining everything from manufacturing to maintenance.

MARTAC’s product line reflects the strategic depth of porcupine defense:

• The Mantis T-12 serves as the 12-foot baseline boat, perfect for littoral zones near shore with a 140-pound payload capacity. Its optional Gator configuration makes it ideal for discrete operations.
• The Devil Ray T-24 provides cost-effective open ocean capability, while the Devil Ray T-38 represents the heavy hitter – a formidable platform with 750-1000 nautical mile range and 4000-pound payload capacity for extended blue water operations.
• The newest addition, the M-18 Muskie, represents a paradigm shift toward “attritable” warfare. This 18-foot vessel is specifically designed to be expendable for one-way missions while still achieving burst speeds over 50 knots and 500 nautical mile range.

As one Navy weapons expert reportedly observed: “We need $50,000 weapons, not just million-dollar weapons. We should have weapons to overwhelm an adversary with Joe’s Garage weapons.”

The Network Effect: Nested Operations and Force Multiplication

What truly sets this approach apart isn’t just the individual boats, but how they work together. MARTAC’s “nested operations” capability creates a Russian doll effect – larger boats can autonomously launch and recover smaller ones while at sea, dramatically extending operational reach without requiring crews in dangerous areas.

Bruce Hansen explained it simply: “You can literally take a 24-foot or 38-foot boat, put a 12-foot boat in the back, drive out a few hundred miles, drop it off, and autonomously launch and recover it.”

This was demonstrated at Baltops 23, where a Devil Ray T-24 delivered a mine detection vessel close to a minefield, launched it autonomously, and significantly accelerated mine countermeasure operations.

The result? Distributed “ISR chess.” Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance networks that create layered coverage zones incredibly difficult for adversaries to predict or counter.

The Philippines Model

The Philippines’ Task Force Ayungin, operating MARTAC vessels from Palawan, provides the world’s first large-scale implementation of porcupine defense. What once seemed like an impossible surveillance challenge, th monitoring over 7,000 islands across vast ocean stretches, now becomes manageable through distributed maritime domain awareness.

T-12 Mantis boats work the littoral zones, using Gator mode for stealth operations around the 12 nautical mile international limit while sending back constant ISR data. Meanwhile, T-38 platforms create overlapping surveillance zones far into open ocean with their impressive range capabilities.

Crucially, these platforms can launch from virtually any waterfront, a small pier, a beach, or a larger ship. This prevents adversaries from believing they can cripple surveillance capabilities by striking a few major ports.

Economics of Asymmetric Defense

The cost advantages built into MARTAC’s approach make porcupine defense accessible to nations that could never afford traditional naval parity. The company relies heavily on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts and maintains a distributed manufacturing network across the United States, working with specialized companies for components rather than building massive factories.

David Merson from MARTAC emphasized this philosophy: “We started with the idea that all the parts of the boat should be readily available COTS parts.”

This thinking radically reshapes maritime defense economics, making credible deterrence affordable for smaller nations while forcing potential adversaries to recalculate the cost of aggression.

Beyond Watching: Combat Applications

These platforms extend far beyond surveillance. In exercises, MARTAC vessels have demonstrated significant combat potential, successfully conducting target tracking and simulated destruction missions. One notable demonstration involved a Devil Ray carrying a nested Mantis, which in turn carried a small UAV capable of delivering lethal effects thereby creating distributed, highly resilient kill chains.

The M-18 Muskie specifically enables swarm attack capabilities or autonomous, high-speed, coordinated strikes against larger conventional ships. Ukraine’s effective use of similar platforms in the Black Sea has proven how swarming USVs can create potent asymmetric advantages against much larger, more expensive assets.

The U.S. Maritime Security Consortium now provides up to $95 million annually through Indo-Pacific Command specifically for rapid deployment of these advanced systems, bypassing traditional acquisition cycles that often take years.

Chris Morton from the Institute for the Study of War observed how “the ability to hold large Chinese naval vessels at risk using relatively low-cost USVs and satellite communications” represents “mind-blowing” economy of force.

Three technological pillars enable this distributed autonomous defense:

• Satellite Communications: Systems like Starlink provide the high-bandwidth, low-latency connections needed for real-time data transfer and remote operation beyond the horizon.
• Advanced AI Systems: These enable autonomous navigation, collision avoidance, and independent operation for extended periods, dramatically reducing manpower requirements.
• Modular Integration: Payload-agnostic designs allow rapid reconfiguration for different missions, ensuring platforms remain relevant as technology evolves.
• Beyond the Horizon: Future Applications

The principles underlying porcupine defense – distributed systems, low-cost platforms, autonomous networking – have applications far beyond maritime domains. Similar approaches could revolutionize air defense through networked sensors and smaller interceptors, ground operations with autonomous reconnaissance swarms, or even cyber warfare through distributed network defense.

Nations mastering these strategies may find themselves with significant strategic advantages regardless of overall military budgets or traditional force sizes.

The porcupine defense revolution represents more than incremental improvement. It’s a fundamental shift in how nations approach security. The focus moves from platforms to networks, from crews to autonomy, from concentrated to distributed operations.

The Philippines’ implementation demonstrates how technological innovation, combined with strategic thinking, can genuinely level maritime playing fields. It’s not about matching traditional metrics like tonnage or ship numbers; it’s about changing the aggressor’s calculations entirely.

In an era of distributed threats and network-centric warfare, perhaps the future belongs to those who can create more quills faster than adversaries can figure out how to pull them out.

As this new paradigm spreads, we may be witnessing the beginning of a profound shift in global power dynamics one where geographic complexity becomes strategic advantage, and where the economics of defense finally favor the defender.

The featured image is of a mesh fleet deployed and was created by an AI system.

A Paradigm Shift in Maritime Operations: Autonomous Systems and Their Impact

This podcast discusses our report which analyzes the Philippines’ “porcupine defense strategy,” emphasizing its reliance on maritime autonomous systems (MAS) and distributed lethality to deter aggression in the South China Sea.

It highlights the Taiwan-Philippines-Japan strategic triangle and the critical importance of the First Island Chain and Luzon Strait for regional security and global trade.

The report details how U.S.-Philippines military cooperation, including fast boat bases and the deployment of unmanned surface vessels (USVs), is transforming naval operations through a “kill web” paradigm and mesh fleet concept.

Ultimately, the strategy aims to make the Philippines a formidable barrier by distributing defensive assets and leveraging technology, offering a blueprint for smaller nations facing similar geopolitical challenges.

Maritime autonomous systems (MAS) play a pivotal role in transforming naval warfare and enhancing deterrence by shifting away from traditional, capital ship-centric operations towards distributed, networked approaches. This fundamental reimagining of naval strategy allows for greater resilience, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness in contested environments.

The podcast was generated by NotebookLM and contains one error for correction. Chris Morton is the Global Industry Director for Aerospace and Defense at IFS.

The report can be obtained here

Ernst Pijning’s “Controlling Contraband” fundamentally redefines the understanding of “illegal trade” in 18th-century Rio de Janeiro, arguing that it was not a marginal or purely criminal activity, but rather an integral and often condoned part of the colonial economy and society.

The book posits that the distinction between “condoned” and “proscribed” illegal trade was fluid, dependent on factors like social status, political utility, and the interests of various administrative bodies.

This flexibility, rather than being a sign of weakness, was a strategic tool used by the Portuguese crown and local authorities to maintain control, generate revenue, and navigate complex international relations.

This isn’t your typical dry academic treatment of trade policy.

Pijning has uncovered a world where corruption wasn’t a bug in the system — it was a feature.

Drawing from court records, government documents, and contemporary literature, he reveals how contraband became the lifeblood of colonial Brazil, tolerated and even encouraged when it served the right interests.

What makes this book essential reading: The Portuguese Empire’s official trade monopolies were largely fiction. Pijning demonstrates how colonial officials systematically looked the other way— or actively participated — when contraband served their economic and political needs. This wasn’t chaos; it was calculated pragmatism that kept the colonial economy afloat.

The book tackles three explosive questions:

• How did illegal trade actually build 18th-century Brazilian society?
• What was Portugal’s real strategy for “controlling” contraband (hint: it wasn’t control)?
• Who held the power to decide when laws mattered—and when they didn’t?

Pijning overturns conventional wisdom about Brazil-Portugal relations, revealing a colonial system built on contradiction and compromise. Controlling Contraband shows us that understanding the illegal economy isn’t just about crime—it’s about understanding how power really worked in colonial Brazil.

For anyone fascinated by the gap between official policy and messy reality, this book delivers insights that resonate far beyond the 18th century.

Controlling Contraband: Mentality, Economy, and Society in Eighteenth-Century Rio de Janeiro