Yesterday, Steve Baker gave us the inside story on the purpose of the plethora of drones flying in droves over New Jersey and other locations. It’s true that drones have revolutionized modern warfare in the sky. Now, defense companies and navies are betting they can do the same underwater.
The New Frontier For Drone Warfare IsThe new underwater drones, with names such as Ghost Shark, Herne and Manta Ray, can typically dive thousands of feet below the surface and operate largely without human interaction for days on end. That ability makes them ideally suited to gather intelligence, protect undersea infrastructure and counter potential threats in the Pacific, advocates say.
“This is an opportune moment for these vehicles,” said Cynthia Cook, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank. “Submarines are fantastic, but they are expensive.”
Perfecting the technology isn’t an easy swim. Maintaining communications deep underwater is more difficult than in the sky, and conditions below the sea’s surface can be harsh.
Underwater drones have been used by academics and offshore energy companies for decades. An underwater drone found Titanic in 1985, for example. Navies have also long used smaller—typically remote-controlled—underwater vessels for mine clearance and other tasks.
Now, defense companies are developing larger, more autonomous vessels that can travel longer distances and do more.
Boeing is set to deliver five of its Orca extra-large uncrewed undersea vehicles to the U.S. Navy by the end of next year. Up to 85 feet long, the Orca can travel the equivalent of almost 7,500 miles with little human intervention.
Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations, has said developing robotic and autonomous systems is one of the U.S. Navy’s top priorities in preparing for a possible war with China.
“Unmanned systems have an enormous potential to multiply our combat power,” Franchetti said at a conference earlier this year.
Elsewhere, Australia is working with defense startup Anduril on an underwater drone called Ghost Shark. The project is part of a $4.65 billion investment the country is making in subsea warfare capabilities and new autonomous and uncrewed maritime vehicles.
Other underwater drones include BAE Systems’ Herne, which is being tested in the U.K., and Northrop Grumman’s Manta Ray, which has a similar shape to the giant flat fish.
France, South Korea and Germany are also working on new unmanned underwater vessels. Ukraine is testing an underwater attack drone called Marichka.
One factor aiding the development of this new class of underwater drones is improving technology. Batteries can last longer, sensors are more accurate, and electronics are smaller. These advancements mean the vessels can be more autonomous, travel for longer, and do more.
The improvements come at an opportune time for Western navies. China has built the world’s largest surface naval fleet and its own large autonomous underwater vehicles.
In Europe, cases in which fiber-optic cables were cut have raised concerns that Russia and others could target crucial lines that move energy and data over ocean floors. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization recently conducted a training exercise off Finland’s coast in which underwater drones were used to protect undersea infrastructure.
European navies that would counter such threats have shrunk in size, while the U.S. has struggled to build large ships on time. Britain’s Royal Navy, once the world’s largest, now has fewer than 20 destroyers and frigates and around ten submarines.
The British Navy is “struggling to do everything they want to do in the manner they want,” said Tim O’Neill, a business development manager at BAE’s maritime services division. “This is where autonomy comes in.”
BAE’s Herne is based on an underwater drone already produced for the energy industry by Cellula Robotics, a Canadian company. BAE added computer systems, cameras and sensors that allow the vessel to operate autonomously as well as gather and analyze intelligence.
Herne, which looks like a mini-submarine, guides itself at sea by using sensors that match its surroundings with preloaded maps. It analyzes vessels it sees by comparing them to a database, allowing it to distinguish between military and civilian craft. Data it collects can be transmitted via a periscope-like mast that rises from its back.
On a recent morning on Britain’s south coast, a crane lowered the 8-metric-ton, 40-foot vessel into the water before it set off on a preprogrammed training mission. During a test, Herne rose out of the water, correctly identified two Naval vessels, and then silently slipped back beneath the waves.
Using a drone to conduct routine surveillance makes it unnecessary to put an expensive submarine and its crew at risk, said O’Neill, a former officer in Britain’s Royal Navy. The drone’s smaller size also allows it to operate in shallower waters.
BAE has been developing Herne for roughly 11 months and aims to have the vessel battle-ready within the next year and a half.
Herne’s battery lasts up to three days. Cellula is experimenting with hydrogen cells that could allow the vessel to operate for 45 days and give it a range of around 3,000 miles—roughly the distance between Ireland and New York.
While Herne is primarily designed for reconnaissance, BAE is exploring the addition of torpedoes and mines.
Adding deadly force to autonomous vessels could raise ethical concerns. Western rules of engagement insist on having a human being pull the trigger in the so-called kill chain.
BAE’s O’Neill said Herne would use lethal force only at the direction of a human.
Communicating with underwater drones is harder than with those in the air because radio waves can’t travel through deep water. The vessels can, though, surface to receive instructions.
While cheaper than submarines, which can cost billions of dollars, the new vessels are more expensive and harder to produce than most of the drones used in Ukraine.
The U.S. Navy, for instance, originally agreed to pay around $379 million for five Orcas and a test prototype, though by 2022, the project was years behind schedule, and the cost had ballooned to $620 million, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. A GAO report cited challenges with the vessel’s battery and difficulty securing materials. Boeing said any over-contract costs were borne by the company.
The vessels must withstand huge pressure deep underwater and be reliable out at sea—if something goes wrong, there is nobody on board to fix it.
“The ocean is a real harsh environment,” said Duane Fotheringham, president of uncrewed systems at shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries, which has its own range of underwater drones. “Sending something to the deep ocean is like sending something to space.”
