A MARK VI IN THE ARABIAN GULF LAUNCHES A PUMA: A U.S. Navy Mark VI patrol boat operating in the Arabian Gulf launches an RQ-20B PUMA Unmanned Aerial System. The photo illustrates how a small naval combatant can use its own drone “air force” for local surveillance. President Trump has told the Navy to sink Iranian vessels if they harass or threaten American ships. Mark VI patrol boats are fast and agile and are used to monitor Iranian “speedboat swarms.” Here’s a Surface Forces update from 2019 which discusses the Mark VI and the U.S. Navy’s “rediscovery” of coastal patrol boats. The update also discusses the Navy’s Cyclone class patrol ships, like the USS Thunderbolt, which engaged an Iranian vessel in 2017.