Crewless and Propeller-Free: The Potential Impact of Drone Technology on Underwater Global Conflicts

Share this @internewscast.com

In a warehouse just south of Perth, rows of sleek yellow gliders are being crafted for a seemingly straightforward mission: monitoring whale populations. Yet, they may soon also play a role in national defense.

The acoustic sensors installed in these autonomous vehicles can capture the sounds made by migrating humpback pods.

Offshore gas companies are pressured by critics of the oil and gas sector to limit noise during vital migration periods and rely on this data to pause drilling operations when whales are nearby.

Yellow underwater drone in the water, undergoing testing.

A yellow underwater glider undergoes buoyancy testing. Source: SBS News / Christopher Tan

“These unmanned underwater vehicles can stay at sea for three to four months on a single battery charge,” Mike Deeks, a former Australian Navy submarine commander who now heads the company making the drones, Blue Ocean Marine Tech Systems, says.

“They don’t have propellers. They move by changing their buoyancy, which means they require very little power.”

Initially used to measure water salinity and temperature for Defence, the new generation of “locus gliders” can operate in swarms of hundreds, even thousands, by communicating with one another, and even land on the seabed to covertly monitor activity.

“We can go to places where other naval or air force assets can’t,” Deeks said.

“And very quietly, gather intelligence.”

AUKUS and the ‘poorer cousin’ of submarines

The emergence of underwater drones coincides with Australia’s most ambitious defence project in decades — the AUKUS security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom.

AUKUS is built on two main elements: nuclear-powered submarines (Pillar 1) and advanced defense technologies, including artificial intelligence, hypersonics, and autonomous systems (Pillar 2).

Deeks believes underwater drones fit squarely into Pillar 2. But he is blunt. “Pillar 2 is in some ways the poorer cousin of Pillar 1,” he said, arguing that funding, support and progress aren’t moving quickly.

That critique is echoed by defence analyst Malcolm Davis from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

“We are not moving fast enough on either pillar, to be honest,” he said.

Yellow underwater glider next to submarine.

A 2018 computer simulation displays a Russian nuclear-powered underwater drone being launched from a submarine. Source: Supplied / RU-RTR Russian Television/AP

“There has been a degree of risk aversion and caution that is slowing down the delivery of those technologies into an actual deployed capability.”

Davis says armed underwater drones will likely operate alongside submarines within the next decade.

“Australia’s future undersea battlespace will likely feature a combination of nuclear-powered, though not nuclear-armed submarines, alongside underwater drone capabilities,” he mentioned.

Lessons from Ukraine

While aerial drones have already reshaped the war in Ukraine, the undersea realm remains an emerging frontier.

“One of the most innovative breakthroughs in recent warfare has been what’s known as autonomous systems — or more commonly, drones,” Davis said.

Ukrainian pilot holding drones ready to launch for an attack.

A Ukrainian pilot readies drones for an attack mission on a frontline near Chasiv Yar city in the Donetsk region, during late July. Source: EPA / Sergey Shestak

According to the BBC, Ukraine has also pushed the boundaries at sea. Naval drones such as the Magura V5 — an uncrewed surface vessel capable of carrying 250kg of explosives and travelling at 80km/h — have sunk or damaged several Russian warships in the Black Sea, forcing Moscow to relocate much of its fleet away from Crimea.

However, Davis cautions that the West encounters challenges regarding the deployment of drones. “It’s crucial we focus on rules of engagement and conflict laws regarding the use of these autonomous systems to mitigate risks to civilians,” he stated.

The government’s stance on underwater drones

The federal government says underwater drones are central to its future defence strategy.

A defence spokesperson told SBS News the 2024 National Defence Strategy outlines plans for “an integrated, focused force” that will deliver a Navy with enhanced strike capability across the sea, air and land domains through the introduction of uncrewed underwater and surface vehicles.

Planned investments, the spokesperson said, include “large and extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles to undertake stealthy, long-range missions in high-risk environments, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and strike.”

The Magura V5 naval drone operates on the water’s surface. Source: Getty / Global Images Ukraine

The government maintains that both pillars of the AUKUS pact are on track, with Pillar 2 — focused on advanced technologies — already yielding results.

“Pillar 2 is already delivering capability benefits faster than any partner could achieve alone … especially in areas such as autonomous and uncrewed maritime warfare,” the spokesperson said.

That message was reinforced at a defence industry press conference in Perth on Wednesday, where Defence Minister Richard Marles was questioned on the urgency of adopting autonomous systems.

“Autonomous warfare drones in every respect, including in the sea, is obviously a focus of our innovation efforts across the Defence Force,” he said.

“We’ve seen the nature of warfare change dramatically in Ukraine and we are very mindful of that. We are learning lessons from that, and it is very much informing the way in which we are thinking about what capabilities we need to apply in this space.”

A group of people in high vis standing around for a media press conference.

Defence Minister Richard Marles and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy at a Perth press conference on Wednesday, announcing support for a local engineering firm while highlighting Australia’s $10 billion investment in drones and autonomous defence systems. Source: SBS News / Christopher Tan

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the government was investing heavily in the technology.

“We’ve allocated over $10 billion to expenditure on drones, counter-drone technology and autonomous systems,” he said.

“The truth is countries around the world are investing in both crewed and uncrewed systems to work with each other because they do different things and they work best together.”

WA locals protesting nuclear

But while defence leaders in Perth have this week descended for the National Nuclear Submarine Conference, protesters chanting outside warned of another danger — nuclear escalation.

Stop AUKUS WA organiser Leonie Lundy said the deal lacks social licence and said the Australian Submarine Agency has misled people about the exact nature of low-level nuclear waste to be stored in the state as part of the AUKUS deal.

A group of protesters holding signs, outside a Perth hotel where a conference is being held.

Protesters outside the National Nuclear Submarine Conference in Perth warn against AUKUS, expressing concerns over nuclear escalation and the storage of low-level nuclear waste in Western Australia. Source: Supplied / Stop AUKUS WA

“We were promised a public meeting five months ago, to express our concerns and get answers.

“We’re fed up with being strung along and lied to.”

Greens WA MLC Sophie McNeil urged Australia to adopt an independent foreign policy and warned against turning Western Australia into a nuclear submarine base.

Others raised broader concerns including the potential of making local communities a nuclear target.

The deepening race beneath the waves

Back at his shed, Deeks insists his company’s technology will never replace nuclear submarines, nor will it be armed.

Instead it will complement them — doing the “dull, dirty or dangerous” jobs.

But as production scales up from dozens to potentially thousands of underwater drones, Australia is entering uncharted waters — with the recent rise in tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.

Whether seen as a breakthrough in maritime surveillance or a step towards an uncertain future, one thing is clear: the battle for the seas may increasingly be fought beneath them — quietly, invisibly, and with machines.