New underwater drones, designed to sniff out hard-to-detect submarines and threats to vulnerable undersea cables, are being tested in the Baltic Sea. The GreyShark, developed by German technology companies EUROATLAS and EvoLogics, is a penguin-shaped autonomous underwater vehicle Gap that flows out into the northern Atlantic. The 17-sensor GreyShark drones were not designed with Russia in mind specifically, but can help plug gaps currently yawning in NATO military stocks before they can be backfilled, said Eugen Ciemnyjewski, EUROATLAS’s managing director. This may be some of the most expensive platforms, like frigates or submarines, he told Newsweek. But the drones are designed to work alongside NATO vessels, including when combating Russian submarines, Ciemnyjewski said. The AUV moving ahead of a ship may pick up a signal from a Russian submarine, and can then relay that back to the larger platform to then target, he added. A swarm, or group, of the underwater drones can also form a “protective shield” around much larger, more expensive vessels, Ciemnyjewski said. NATO nations in Europe have pledged to dramatically raise defense spending, spurred on by the threat of Russia and by the uncertainty around the U. S.’s future on the continent under President Donald Trump. Washington has historically propped up defense in Europe, providing many of the most costly capabilities. The war in Ukraine has also driven a firm push toward often cheap, unmanned systems that can be mass-produced and pack a punch against much more complicated, pricey platforms. Drones have ripped away hiding spaces for expensive, sophisticated kit like frigates, and peeled back the role manned systems will have going forward, said Ciemnyjewski. “You cannot hide as a frigate, you cannot hide as a mine-hunter, you cannot hide as a tank,” he said. “There’s no hiding space anymore in the world, unless [you’re] in the undersea domain. The timing, which changes slightly with different analyses, hinges on the outcome of the war in Ukraine. Many politicians across the alliance insist NATO is quickly driving forward with a vast military buildup, underpinned by a defense industrial boom in Europe. Others, including industry sources, are less convinced Europe is moving fast enough to meet the potential threat in time. “We are under threat,” said Ciemnyjewski. “Everyone should have understood this.”.
https://www.newsweek.com/watch-new-submarine-hunting-underwater-drones-undergo-tests-baltic-sea-11091957