Submarine drones to track the Russians in UK waters

ROYAL navy submarines could soon launch drones from beneath the waves to spy on russian boats around the British coast.

Sailors on the Uk’s nucleararmed submarines would be able to fire a canister that releases a drone once it hits the surface. in a new phase of robotic warfare, the 3.75 lb drones can then be operated from under the sea or made to act autonomously.

the ‘Outrider’ drone, which is almost silent, feeds back images of enemy vessels to a high definition television so the submarine knows where to either avoid or target. it can spy from the sky for twoand-a-half hours and travel at up to 57mph.

a royal navy source said: ‘We could hunt down any adversary with this piece of kit.’

Details of the drone’s development came after it emerged russian submarine activity around Britain has increased tenfold in the past six years.

numbers of subs sent by the Kremlin to uK waters are now similar to the levels seen in the cold War.

the uK was forced to call upon its European allies for help to hunt down a suspected russian submarine lurking off the west coast three weeks ago after our own patrol aircraft were axed. the Outrider drone can be launched at the press of a button from a range of platforms, including submarines, ships or by Special Forces travelling in armoured vehicles.

it can be flown in fully autonomous mode, in which it will follow a pre-programmed flight plan mapped out by submariners. alternatively in remote pilot mode, the operator can control the drone using thumb- sticks built into a specially adapted handset, or by plugging the controller into a laptop.

Paul James, in charge of the drone project at lockheed Martin, said: ‘Drones play a key part in warfighting as they take the operator out of harm’s way. in the case of the underwater environment, Outrider can be launched while the submarine remains submerged and at a safe stand-off distance.’

the drone is deployed by firing a 39in long canister from the submarine into the water. Once it hits the air, the shell falls apart and the drone unfurls its wings.

currently it is designed for spying and does not carry weapons. it can be used to detect surface ships, or survivors in the case of search and rescue missions. it would also be able to spot submarines near the surface.

the drones are currently not reusable, and cannot return to the submarine, but can be recovered if flown on to land.