Underwater Drones Changing Naval Warfare From Iran To China

Underwater drones are rapidly emerging as a new frontier in naval warfare, with militaries deploying robotic submarines to conduct surveillance, hunt underwater mines and potentially attack enemy vessels.

American underwater drones have already operated during the Iran War, while countries across Europe and the Pacific are developing increasingly sophisticated unmanned submarines capable of carrying weapons. France became the latest country to embrace the technology Tuesday, awarding shipbuilder Naval Group a contract to develop a large autonomous combat submarine with sea trials scheduled for 2028, according to the French Defense Innovation Agency.

Naval Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The growing military importance of underwater drones became apparent in September when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps captured an American-built Anduril Dive-LD near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

The autonomous submarine had malfunctioned more than a day before Iranian forces recovered it while surveying regional waters in support of American military operations, U.S. Central Command spokesman Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins told DefenseScoop.

Photographs showing the American-made Anduril Dive-LD submarine drone recovered by Iranian forces near the Strait of Hormuz were posted on X by the open-source intelligence account OSINTdefender on Sept. 8.

Anduril did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The captured drone was an older model that carried no classified sonar or radar equipment, Hawkins said. Nevertheless, its recovery provided a rare glimpse into the American military’s use of underwater robots during the conflict, according to DefenseScoop.

The Anduril Dive-LD measures approximately 19 feet long, can operate autonomously for up to 10 days and is designed to reach depths of 6,000 meters, according to Anduril.