SINGAPORE — Governments and militaries in Southeast Asia are turning to autonomous underwater tech to monitor subsea cables after a series of damaged infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, and recently, in sea lanes surrounding Taiwan.
“We are getting a lot of interest for monitoring underwater infrastructure,” Verineia Codrean, Strategic Alliances and Civilian Affairs officer for German firm Euroatlas, told Defense News.
“It seems that a lot of operators want to have this awareness of what is happening — they want to be aware of what actors are in the water, what type of infrastructure you have underwater, and is something happening near that infrastructure,” Codrean explained.
In a region where military modernization is still playing catch up amid increasing geopolitical tension, militaries want cost-efficient ways to keep an eye on vast underwater domains, ensure the safety of sailors, and resolve decreasing numbers in end strength.
And as maritime AI tools grow increasingly available, countries such as Singapore are slowly shifting to unmanned fleets and assets – a trend that will likely shape the region’s maritime future, Codrean said.
Euroatlas is riding this trend with Greyshark, an AUV co-developed with EvoLogics, which had its first showing in the region at the IMDEX Asia trade show earlier this month.
The Greyshark AUV can stay underwater for up to four months. It boasts of swarm data-sharing and stealth capabilities and the capacity to fulfill an array of missions, from monitoring underwater infrastructure such as cables and gas pipelines to stealth intelligence gathering, coast clearing, and naval mine warfare.
While open sea trials for Greyshark are set this week in Portugal, the company plans to release a charging pod for the Bravo version which will be installed in the seabed “so the Greyshark doesn’t need to go above water to recharge” and a larger version, the Foxtrot, which runs on hydrogen cell battery.
Shifting to autonomous underwater vehicles for military use is “addressing this permanent maritime awareness that you need given the geopolitics in the region. It is addressing the cost; it’s very low-cost to deploy this compared to a manned [platform]; and number three, it’s very safe. Because when you lose one of these, you don’t lose a life,” Codrean said.
The growing interest in AUVs comes after cargo ships dragged their anchors at the bottom of the Baltic Sea and damaged subsea data cables and a gas pipeline in two separate incidents. China-flagged ships caused the incidents, but European officials and militaries believe Russian intelligence agencies are behind the attacks.
Similar incidents occurred in waters surrounding Taiwan, conducted by Africa-registered ships manned by a suspected Chinese crew.
Taiwanese officials speculate an attempt by China to establish a “maritime shadow network” to sabotage Taiwanese subsea cables. While China denied the incidents as state-sanctioned, the government revealed a new ship capable of cutting cables at 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) with ease.
Adm. Stephen Koehler, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, said it’s necessary to determine if the incidents are part of “gray zone tactics,” a threat, or an accident. And the best way to do so is for countries in the region to agree on standards, he said.
“All of those things are possible,” Koehler said during the International Maritime Security Conference. “I think if we can categorize those and get some level of agreement, it is vital for all countries to have that secure infrastructure protected. And having that work under a set of norms and laws that address the underwater structures is widely important.”
While AUVs offer a way to monitor these incidents and alert operators of possible hostile activities underwater, their presence might pose challenges for Southeast Asia, where there is no formal mechanism for Navy-level exchanges in the underwater domain, according to Adm. Datuk Zulhelmy bin Ithnain, chief of the Royal Malaysian Navy.
“The underwater domain is becoming congested, and we do not really speak of our operations underwater especially involving submarines in our navies,” Ithnain said.
Having a template is crucial, he said, especially if Navies in the region begin to adopt AUVs into their force structure.
Leilani Chavez is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. Her reporting expertise is in East Asian politics, development projects, environmental issues and security.
