United States conducts first Indo-Pacific trial of Magura-class uncrewed surface vehicles in the Philippines

Exam-focused facts from the 26 June 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

The United States (US) conducted the first Indo-Pacific trial of Magura-class uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs), developed in Ukraine, during an exercise in the Philippines.
Taiwan is developing the Kaui-Chi attack USV and plans to procure 1,320 units at a cost of NT$28 billion ($888 million).
Japan has allocated approximately $600 million for coastal defence drones in the current fiscal year, contracting IHI Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China has unveiled the HSU100 for intelligence gathering, the AJX002 for mining, and operates the 58-metre Orca JARI-USV-A.
The US provided four underwater vehicles to the Filipino military to address strategic contests in the South China Sea.