Page 8: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2024)

INSIGHTS SUBSEA DEFENSE

SILENT,

MOBILE,

DEADLY:

THE RISE OF

COMBAT AUVS

Copyright Jesper/AdobeStock

By David Strachan, Senior Analyst, Strikepod Systems rone warfare has come into its own. The war in targeted by warship point defense systems and helicopter gun-

Ukraine, what many analysts are calling the ? rst ships. With these countermeasures in mind, small actors are true drone war, continues to showcase and validate now turning to the challenging, opaque undersea domain.

Dthe combat effectiveness of small, lethal, expend- In Ukraine, wartime development of weaponized, combat able vehicles, particularly when employed by a resource-poor autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) is underway, with actor facing a heavily armed adversary. This has played out two combat-capable AUVs being unveiled in recent months not only in the air and on the battle? eld, where Ukrainian – Toloka, a family of OWA AUVs developed by Brave1, a and Russian troops have successfully employed one-way at- Ukrainian defense technology cluster, and Marichka, a large tack (OWA) aerial drones, but also at sea, where ? otillas of displacement AUV developed by AMMO Ukraine. Although

Ukrainian weaponized unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) the Black Sea has taken center stage as a kind of maritime have wreaked havoc on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, damaging drone proving ground, Ukraine is not the only small actor re- several high-value warships, and driving others from Sevas- lying on underwater ingenuity and innovation. In May, 2021, topol to seek shelter in Novorossiysk. They have also been a Hamas medium displacement AUV was destroyed by the used to attack the Kerch bridge, a critical supply line to Rus- Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as it was being deployed from sian operations on the Crimean peninsula. Given these highly a beach in northern Gaza, reportedly to attack an offshore asymmetric effects, naval planners and strategists around the installation. And in December, 2023, images surfaced show- world are taking careful note. ing what appeared to be another homebuilt Hamas AUV, the

But despite their inherent advantages – low pro? le, high Al-Asef, ostensibly for use against Israeli ports and coastal speed, real-time operator control – surface drones are vulner- targets. Iran is also understood to have developed a com- able to barrier defenses, such as the security booms and nets bat AUV, an unguided, long-range hybrid torpedo/AUV de- installed by Russia in the wake of Ukraine’s initial USV at- signed to strike stationary targets, such as anchored vessels tack, or more high-tech measures, such as electronic warfare or coastal infrastructure. These designs lie in stark contrast to to disrupt communication between drone and operator. They the dominant combat AUV design paradigm for larger navies are also vulnerable to visual and radar detection, and can be - i.e. complex, modular, multi-mission vehicles endowed with 8 January/February 2024

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