Page 12: of Marine Technology Magazine (Sep/Oct 2026)

Subsea Defense

MTR 100 systems from Voyis (now part of Kraken Robotics) can Technologies, and Liquid Robotics demonstrated an architec- create high-resolution three-dimensional models for iden- ture linking AUVs, persistent ACOMMS, and shore-based ti? cation. The threat could then be interrogated and re- mission awareness to address critical undersea infrastructure motely neutralized using a Defender ROV from VideoRay protection. All three companies bring an important piece of (an AeroVironment Company) to deploy a remotely deto- the kill chain to bear – Bedrock with a ? eet of modular AUVs nated charge. purpose-built for subsea imaging; Integer Technologies, with

DIGIT UxV mission assurance software, which fuses real-

EXPEDITIONARY SEA DENIAL time operational state with predictive digital twins; and Liq-

On a remote island deep inside an adversary weapons engage- uid Robotics with its high-endurance Wave Glider USV, pro- ment zone (WEZ), a small detachment of Marines rotates a viding a gateway between the surface and undersea domain.

? eet of strike AUVs into a strategic waterway to autonomously Oceaneering brings decades of subsea inspection and engage enemy surface traf? c. Some 600 nautical miles away, intervention experience to this problem set. Its Freedom a low-pro? le autonomous craft is inbound, loaded down with AUV is a resident-capable vehicle that can dock with critical supplies and additional rounds. Meanwhile, hybrid Oceaneering’s Liberty resident system to charge its batter- autonomous undersea and surface vehicles (AUSVs) maintain ies and transfer data without having to surface. And Free- watch offshore, providing additional targeting data to the dom’s unique tooling interface could conceivably be used

Marine operators and the mobile mines lurking below. to actuate a mine-neutralization module, such as one de-

Pods of roaming, armed AUVs may sound futuristic, signed to deploy small, remotely detonated charges.

but platforms such as the VATN Systems’ Skelmir S12, a swarm-enabled medium AUV with a range of between SUBSEA STRIKE 125 and 200 nautical miles, could enable an austere Ma- An XL-AUV approaches a contested maritime chokepoint. rine Corps expeditionary advanced base (EAB) to conduct On the ocean ? oor below, an energy depot is powering an sea denial operations by establishing a persistent, mobile enemy passive acoustic sensing array. Waiting inside the XL- mine? eld just offshore. AUV’s payload bay is a complement of smaller autonomous

Covertly resupplying the Marines creates another prob- vehicles, some con? gured with advanced imaging sonar and lem. Leidos’ Sea Specter offers an intriguing solution: a target recognition software, while others carry high-powered stealthy, long-range autonomous low-pro? le vessel (ALPV) warheads. The imaging vehicles are released, capturing high inspired by narco submersibles and intended to deliver resolution imagery of the seabed that is processed by onboard supplies or ? repower into contested areas. target recognition software to con? rm the depot’s location. Tar-

Offshore intelligence warning and targeting data could geting data is transmitted back to the XL-AUV and passed to be provided by the SubSeaSail HORUS, a small wind- and the strike AUVs, which slip quietly from the payload bay.

solar-powered semi-submersible platform designed for low Seabed warfare is often framed around cables and pipelines, signature, long endurance ISR missions. but could increasingly encompass UUV-launched kinetic strikes against other forms of infrastructure: sensors, effec-

CRITICAL UNDERWATER INFRASTRUCTURE tors, and energy outposts. Anduril’s Dive-XL paired with the (CUI) DEFENSE company’s Copperhead family of AUVs offers one potential

A transoceanic cable operator is alerted via distributed acous- architecture. Copperheads can be ? tted with side scan sonar tic sensing (DAS): contact detected near a section of cable lo- for survey missions, or high-powered warheads for strike.

cated hundreds of meters below the surface. A resident AUV Meanwhile, crewed submarines themselves are becom- is dispatched to investigate, processing its survey data onboard ing autonomous system motherships. In March of this to identify the anomaly rather than transmitting terabytes of year, L3Harris received a DIU contract for its Iver4 900 raw data. A compressed ACOMMS transmission is relayed Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery (TTLR) system. via a loitering USV providing a communications gateway to Such a capability would extend the submarine’s organic operators ashore, who acknowledge the ? nding and authorize sensing capability, but it also would enable precision en- neutralization. The vehicle deploys a small shaped charge from gagements against seabed targets.

an integrated neutralization module, which is then activated The next phase in the evolution of undersea warfare may remotely via acoustic signal. be less about developing new platforms than connecting

The defense of vulnerable subsea infrastructure continues those that already exist. AUVs, USVs, distributed sensors, to gain attention, and persistent autonomous operations sophisticated payloads, and advanced processing are pro- could transform CUI defense from periodic survey mis- viding the individual links. The challenge now is integrat- sions to continuous awareness. ing them across the air-sea interface and throughout the

During LANTERNFISH 2026, Bedrock Ocean, Integer water column into distributed operational kill chains.

12 September/October 2026

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