The First Waves of Amphibious Assault Will Be Unmanned– warontherocks.com

In the Pacific War, the U.S. Navy’s underwater demolition teams prepared the way for U.S. and allied amphibious landings on enemy-held islands. Through beach reconnaissance, obstacle breaching, mine clearance, and other missions, these teams paved paths for the first waves of amphibious assaults conducted by naval task forces and subsequent landings by marines and soldiers throughout the island hopping campaign.  

These critical first steps of an amphibious operation were incredibly risky in World War II. And the underwater demolition teams, which were the predecessors of the Navy SEALs, were understandably proud of their work. The Marine Corps prided itself on being first to hit the beach. And when marines did hit the beach, they often arrived to find signs left by the underwater demolitions team saying, “Welcome Marines.” 

Precision strike weapons make such operations more perilous than ever. There may never be an American servicemember preparing or landing with the first wave of an opposed amphibious assault again. And it may be robots welcoming marines and soldiers to the beach in these future fights.