Underwater drones herald sea change in Pacific warfare

US, UK, China and Russia are all developing and deploying underwater drones to gain a subaqueous advantage

Asia Times, By GABRIEL HONRADA, JANUARY 12, 2022,

The drones that have changed the complexion of war from the sky are being replicated at sea, as great powers develop and deploy unmanned underwater vessels (UUVs) to gain a strategic edge in the Pacific and beyond.

The United States, United Kingdom, China and Russia are all developing and deploying the vessels, indicating the “dronification” of future maritime warfare……………………………………….

China is also known to be using underwater drones, with Indonesia seizing three Chinese drones labeled “Shenyang Institute of Automation Chinese Academy of Sciences” near South Sulawesi’s Selayar Island in December 2020…………..

The proliferation of underwater drones in the Pacific region is changing the complexion of underwater warfare, as the region’s maritime environment poses unique operational challenges to underwater operations………………………..

, the South China Sea is an ideal proving ground for underwater drones, as they can perform underwater tasks that may be too dull, demanding, dangerous or even dirty for humans.

Underwater drones can be used for bathymetric mapping, alongside recording the thermal, magnetic, and acoustic properties of specific underwater passages to find blind spots where submarines can travel undetected safely.

As such, this capability is particularly suited for use in the South China Sea, which is among the most challenging bodies of water for submarine navigation due to its shallow waters, numerous underwater peaks and sandbars.

The recent collision of the USS Connecticut submarine with an unmapped seamount in the South China Sea illustrates the danger. In addition, these drones can also find submarine hiding spots to serve as staging areas for underwater operations, or sanctuaries to avoid enemy anti-submarine warfare operations………………………………… https://asiatimes.com/2022/01/underwater-drones-herald-sea-change-in-pacific-warfare/?fbclid=IwAR3H-_1sP9YU3U_lQruGuGiRRBHLFX9kOLdbdvXf1zL8pxXgq

May 12, 2022 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, weapons and war