According to multiple foreign media reports, the "Okus" alliance consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia recently completed a week-long "Operation Maritime" joint exercise in Jervis Bay, Australia. This exercise attempts to integrate unmanned systems newly developed by three countries, with the ultimate goal of applying unmanned technology to military operations as soon as possible. The intensive debut of the new system reported that the "Maritime Operation" exercise includes a series of trilateral comprehensive experiments and training activities, aiming to enhance the application of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems by the three countries' forces in the marine environment, and improve interoperability. This exercise deployed and maintained thousands of unmanned systems, testing about 30 new types of unmanned systems, covering multiple combat spaces from the seabed to the stratosphere. The "Okus" alliance showcased three main unmanned systems during the exercise. One is the unmanned surface vessel known as the "Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Boat". In May of this year, the US Pacific Fleet officially established the third squadron of unmanned surface vessels at the Coronado Naval Base and equipped it with this type of vessel for conducting tactical operations such as maritime patrols, strikes, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. The second is the "Vanilla" long-range unmanned aerial vehicle. This summer, the US military conducted tests on this type of drone in multiple islands in the Western Pacific region. The results show that it can fly for 27 hours under adverse weather conditions, perform intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance tasks, and also serve as a communication relay platform. The third is the "Sea God" amphibious unmanned vehicle. In the past two years, the equipment has undergone situational awareness testing in different temperature zones such as the Gulf of Guinea, the North Sea, and the Baltic Sea. It can rely on solar energy to autonomously navigate for 3 months or continuously dive for 5 days. It can be deployed from ships and shore, and only requires two people to complete system recovery. It is claimed to be able to "perform multiple surface and underwater combat missions simultaneously". In terms of underwater combat capabilities, this exercise also attempts to achieve multiple breakthroughs. The United States and the United Kingdom have expanded their capabilities in launching and retrieving unmanned torpedo tubes, completed the integration of the British "Stingray" light torpedo with the P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, and improved the underwater combat range and ammunition dispatch flexibility. The operational interoperability and collaboration mechanism of underwater vehicles in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia has also been verified. A military participant stated that the new system has improved the efficiency of military data transmission and intelligence processing, achieving a seamless connection between manned and unmanned vehicles in large-scale intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, and establishing a new standard for situational awareness and intelligence sharing among the three countries' forces in the future. The deterrence intention is becoming increasingly apparent. At the beginning of its establishment in 2021, the "Okus" alliance intentionally concealed and downplayed its military alliance color. The officials of the three countries claim that the United States and Britain are helping Australia build "nuclear powered submarines", not "nuclear submarines". Nowadays, the "Okus" alliance has prominently demonstrated its intention to establish a "comprehensive military industry and technology alliance" and accelerate its move from the "first pillar" (joint development of nuclear submarines) to the "second pillar" (joint development and application of emerging military technologies). Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Planning, and Capability at the Pentagon, Mortermans, stated that this exercise demonstrates the integration of human and unmanned capabilities, which can help gain operational advantages, improve procurement and maintenance efficiency, and change the mindset of allies towards joint operations. Mortermans also quoted US Defense Secretary Austin's words, emphasizing that alliances and partnerships are the biggest global strategic advantage of the United States. Specifically, the 'Okus' alliance will be based on industrial collaboration and technological needs in the future, jointly developing advanced military capabilities, building stronger joint forces, and strengthening military deterrence in the Indo Pacific region. She pointed out that the "second pillar" of the "Okus" alliance is focusing on promoting innovative development of the military industry in the three countries. This year, the three countries held their first innovation competition focused on electronic warfare, and are currently formulating a "two-year plan" to strengthen innovation cooperation among the three countries. It is expected that the "Advanced Capability Industry Forum" will be held before the end of the year. In December 2023, the "Okus" Alliance announced at its second ministerial meeting that it will test a new artificial intelligence algorithm system to detect and track submarines in the Pacific Ocean faster and more accurately. In August of this year, the "Okus" alliance announced that it had completed the first operational testing of unmanned aerial vehicles. According to reports, as a prelude and important part of the "Operation Maritime" exercise, naval personnel from the United States, Britain, and Australia are operating unmanned ships located in Australian waters at a Portuguese command center about 16000 kilometers away from Australia to complete a series of tasks. James Parkin, Director of the UK Navy Development Department, stated that tests have shown that the three countries have the ability to command and control ships on the other side of the world in realistic tactical scenarios. The potential risks are increasing day by day. After the end of the "Operation Maritime" exercise, both the US and UK officials claimed that the "Okus" alliance is applying the latest military technology to military operations at an unprecedented speed. It is worth noting that Japan participated in the exercise for the first time as an observer, which once again drew attention to the issue of expanding the membership of the "Okus" alliance. Given that South Korea and Canada are also accelerating their approach to the "Okus" alliance, more US allies and partners may join this exercise with the theme of operating unmanned maritime systems in the future. The artificial intelligence technology used in unmanned systems has characteristics such as "specificity and universality", "growth potential", and "military civilian dual-use". After being applied to maritime combat platforms, it helps to enhance the effectiveness of naval warfare weapons and equipment, promote the establishment of intelligent command and decision-making systems, improve maritime logistics support capabilities, and accelerate the militarization process of artificial intelligence at sea. Many researchers believe that the unknown potential and hidden dangers of artificial intelligence, as well as the accelerated deployment of military artificial intelligence systems by various actors, will bring potential risks to maritime security, and even expand the "gray area" at sea and intensify maritime crises. The "Okus" alliance, which has had a "nuclear gene" since its establishment, will increase the risk of nuclear conflicts at sea due to its excessive development of artificial intelligence technology. Strategic nuclear submarines are regarded as the "ballast stone" for nuclear deterrence and strategic balance among major powers due to their concealment and "second strike" capability. However, multiple studies have shown that artificial intelligence, with its autonomy and powerful learning capabilities, can autonomously identify, track, locate, and strike nuclear forces, including nuclear submarines, in the future, thereby disrupting maritime strategic stability. Given the increased likelihood of a nuclear submarine being hard destroyed or its command system being hacked, the probability of a "preemptive" nuclear strike also increases. (New Society)