In a historic collaboration with Sagar Defence Engineering, India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is driving a transformative leap in undersea warfare by developing submarine-launched Unmanned Launchable Underwater Aerial Vehicles (ULUAVs) and AI-powered underwater drone swarms.
This ambitious program heralds a new age for the Indian Navy, promising to expand the boundaries of stealth, intelligence, and combat capabilities below the waves.
ULUAVs are a wonderful combination of underwater and aerial drone technologies. These hybrid drones are designed to be fired directly from a submarine’s torpedo tube, even when the vessel is in motion or submerged. Once launched, the ULUAV goes underwater before automatically emerging and elegantly changing into flight mode.
This distinct operating profile enables submarines to expand their intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities far beyond traditional boundaries, all while keeping their most valuable asset: stealth.
Unlike traditional systems, Indian ULUAVs are being developed for over an hour of endurance and a range of over 20 kilometers, much outperforming current U.S. counterparts, which typically offer only 30 minutes of flying time and a 7-kilometer range.
ULUAVs’ operational versatility is further increased by their ability to perform a wide range of missions. Once airborne, these drones can perform ISR missions, act as radio relays to expand communication networks, and perhaps carry out electronic warfare or decoy operations.
The system’s design prioritizes reliable post-mission recovery, allowing these valuable assets to be reused for several sorties, maximizing operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Parallel to the ULUAV program, DRDO is working on autonomous underwater drone swarms. These are groups of small, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) that can be launched and controlled from a submarine.
The incorporation of AI-driven swarm intelligence enables these UUVs to work together to complete complicated missions such as area surveillance, mine countermeasures, and coordinated strikes against enemy assets.
The deployment of such swarms from a submerged submarine enables continuous monitoring of surface and subsurface threats, conveying real-time targeting and ISR data back to command centers while never jeopardizing the submarine’s camouflaged position.
The combined effect of ULUAVs and underwater drone swarms significantly expands the operational envelope of Indian submarines. These platforms may now conduct over-the-horizon reconnaissance, relay essential communications, and possibly engage targets while remaining undiscovered beneath the surface.
The addition of artificial intelligence increases their effectiveness by allowing a single submarine to perform several, simultaneous missions—ranging from ISR and electronic warfare to, in the future, kinetic strikes—without surfacing or exposing itself to enemy detection.
DRDO’s pioneering work on submarine-launched ULUAVs and AI-powered underwater drone swarms is poised to transform India’s naval warfare capabilities.
By using homegrown innovation and superior unmanned systems, India not only improves maritime security and strategic deterrence, but also positions itself at the forefront of next-generation undersea warfare technologies.
This program demonstrates India’s commitment to self-reliance in defense technology and is a critical step toward technological superiority in the increasingly competitive undersea battlespace.
