Reference News, November 30 - According to the UK's Guardian website on November 28, aerial drones used in the Russia-Ukraine conflict have completely transformed land warfare tactics. Now, similar changes seem to be taking place underwater.

Navies around the world are accelerating the deployment of underwater unmanned vehicles. The Royal Navy of the UK plans to establish a fleet of underwater unmanned vehicles, which will play a leading role for the first time in tracking submarines, protecting undersea cables and pipelines. Australia has committed $1.1 billion to purchase the "Ghost Shark" underwater unmanned vehicle. The US Navy has invested billions of dollars in multiple underwater unmanned vehicle projects, with one already in use that can be launched from nuclear submarines.

Scott Jamieson, General Manager of the Sea and Land Defense Division at BAE Systems, a major weapons supplier and nuclear submarine manufacturer in the UK, said that underwater unmanned vehicles represent "a true leap forward in underwater warfare." He pointed out that new unmanned underwater vehicles being developed can help the navy "achieve unprecedented scale expansion" at "a fraction of the cost of manned submarines."

This huge emerging market opportunity is prompting fierce competition between large defense companies with extensive experience, such as BAE Systems, General Dynamics, and Boeing in the US, and weapon technology startups like Anduril Industries, the manufacturer of the "Ghost Shark" underwater unmanned vehicle. Startups claim they can advance projects faster and at lower costs.

Underwater unmanned vehicles are expected to make it easier to track competitors' submarines. According to an industry executive, some sensors can be deployed by unmanned underwater vehicles and can remain submerged on the seabed for several months at a time.

Another factor driving the development of underwater unmanned vehicles is the increasing number of obvious attacks on oil and gas pipelines, such as the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and the 2023 damage to the "Baltic Connector" gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia. Undersea power and internet cables are equally vital to the global economy. Last Christmas, an undersea power cable between Finland and Estonia was damaged.

The UK House of Commons Defence Select Committee expressed concern about the vulnerability of its own country to underwater destruction. Such "gray zone" operations could cause serious damage but usually do not reach the level of acts of war.

The Ukrainian military has realized that speed and low cost are crucial when developing aerial drones and underwater unmanned vehicles.

Dr. Siddharth Kashyap, Senior Research Fellow on maritime power at the Royal United Services Institute in the UK, said that anti-submarine strategies over the past few decades "are difficult to scale up in conflicts," because they require a combination of expensive "high-tech equipment."

The idea of letting low-cost underwater unmanned vehicles take on some of this work is appealing. However, Kashyap warned that its cost advantage "remains to be seen." Industry experts point out that the maintenance costs of deploying a large number of underwater unmanned vehicles will still be substantial.

For protecting undersea cables, underwater unmanned vehicles may also be a double-edged sword: the cost of destructive actions will thus become cheaper and easier. An industry executive said that the possibility of unmanned underwater vehicles attacking each other underwater "is entirely possible." (Translated by Yang Ke)

"Ghost Shark" underwater unmanned vehicle (AP)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7578360902316048938/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author and welcomes your opinion through the [Up/Down] buttons below.