Unmanned underwater drones, one coincidently named SEA HUNTER. In development by the US military to be ready by end of 2020.

(Caption on photo) Figure 5. Sea Hunter Prototype Medium Displacement USV

Title of Report: Congressional Research Service

https://crsreports.congress.gov

Navy Large Unmanned Surface and Undersea

Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress

Updated September 17, 2020

(excerpt)

In May 2019, the Navy established a surface development squadron to help develop operational concepts for LUSVs and MUSVs. The squadron will initially consist of a Zumwalt (DDG-1000) class destroyer and one Sea Hunter prototype medium displacement USV (Figure 5). A second Sea Hunter prototype will reportedly be added around the end of FY2020, and LUSVs and MUSVs will then be added as they become available.

https://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/R45757.pdf

>>10888251

Note that on page 4 of the report regarding the underwater drone SEA HUNTER, there is a diagram. RED is "command and control" and GREEN is the "sensors".

https://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/R45757.pdf

(excerpt)

Source: Illustration accompanying Megan Eckstein, “Sea Hunter Unmanned Ship Continues Autonomy Testing

as NAVSEA Moves Forward with Draft RFP,” USNI News, April 29, 2019. The illustration was also included as

Slide 2 in a Navy briefing entitled “Designing & Building the Surface Fleet: Unmanned and Small Combatants,” by

Rear Admiral Casey Moton at a June 20, 2019, conference of the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE).

Notes: Each sphere represents a ship or a USV. LSC means large surface combatant (i.e., cruiser or destroyer),

and SSC means small surface combatant (i.e., frigate or Littoral Combat Ship). As shown in the color coding, the LSCs and SSCs are equipped with a combination of sensors (green), command and control (C2) equipment (red),

Coincidence that the Russian drone sub is red?

(Headline) This is Russia’s new unique underwater drone for Arctic waters

(Subhead) A series of unmanned underwater vehicles (UAV) for both research and military purposes are under development.

ByThomas Nilsen

июля 12, 2016

The existence of the new drone, code-named Klavesin-2R-PM, became public as Rubin Central Design Bureau of Marine Technology recently published its annual report 2015.

Also other drones are listed in the report:

Completed construction of “Yunona” autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), designed for search/survey work at 1,000m; being prepared for state testing

Began initial testing of prototype “Klavesin-2R-PM” AUV at Krylov State Science Centre in fourth quarter of 2015; designed for search/Survey work at 6,000m

Began initial testing of “Vityaz” device, designed for scientific research work at depths up to 11,000m

Completed work related to creation of remote-controlled undersea geological survey drilling system; designed for Arctic operations at 4,500m

Rubin, a subsidiary of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, is one of Russia’s three design bureaus for military submarines and has well-known ballistic missile carriers like Yankee-, Delta- and Typhoon in its records.

Two units of Klavesin-2R-PM are to be built in St. Petersburg, TASS reported in June. Speaking with the news agency, Rubin Director Igor Villeneuve says the new drone has “increased autonomy and depth in addition to surveillance and search functions.”

https://thebarentsobserver.com/ru/node/958

Oct 1, 2019,07:40am EDT

China Navy Reveals New Large Underwater Robot Which Could Be A Game Changer

The AUV’s layout is telling. The twin propellers, called screws in nautical circles, are optimized for cruising. So the HSU-001 is likely to be used for long range patrols. There are also thrusters buried in the hull which allow it to hover or move vertically up or down, even sideways.

The flat nose is a telltale sign that it has a relatively large sonar there for detecting underwater targets. The above-surface eyes and ears are carried by two masts which fold down into the streamlined hull when when not in use. The small bumps either side at the front might be part of a homing system to allow it to locate underwater objects, possible even a mother submarine.

Large underwater robots are seen as one of the key emerging technologies in naval warfare but so far the cost and complexity of this solution has meant that no country, not even the United States, has fielded them operationally. As the size of the AUV gets larger and more capable the complexity of operating it, transporting and maintaining it increases. So most operational AUVs are very small. The HSU-001 is therefore at the leading edge of AUV adoption.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2019/10/01/china-reveals-new-robot-underwater-vehicle-hsu-001/#652687ea1991