Can the US fend off China’s subsea drones? Its coastguard looks for answers

The U.S. Coast Guard is actively seeking commercially available systems capable of detecting, tracking, and disabling unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), signaling a growing concern over undersea drone proliferation.

This request for information comes less than a year after China unveiled several advanced uncrewed maritime systems, including the HSU-001 and AJX-002 large underwater vehicles. Analysts suggest these systems are designed for intelligence gathering, surveillance, and potentially more significant operations, indicating a rapid expansion of China's autonomous underwater capabilities.

While technologies to detect and track UUVs are available, the U.S. Coast Guard acknowledges a shortage of proven systems to neutralize them once identified. The service is prioritizing solutions that have already been tested and fielded, rather than those still in development.

Experts indicate that no single technology currently offers a comprehensive solution to defend against underwater drones. These UUVs are becoming more prevalent in both civilian and military contexts due to their ability to operate covertly for extended periods. Their potential uses range from intelligence gathering and smuggling to sabotage and attacks on maritime infrastructure.

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While technologies to detect and track UUVs already exist, the US Coast Guard said there were few tried-and-true systems to stop them once they had been identified.