According to information published by the UK MoD on December 1, 2022, the Royal Navy ordered its first crewless submarine to shape the future of underwater warfare.
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Artist rendering of the future crewless Cetus. (Picture source: UK MoD)
In just two years’ time Cetus – named after a mythological sea monster – will move stealthily through the oceans, monitoring hostile activity, listening out for ships or submarines which may pose a threat to the Fleet, or to key national infrastructure such as deep-sea cables and pipelines.
The Royal Navy has experimented with – and in some cases operated – autonomous underwater systems for more than a decade. Most are small, off-the-shelf technologies, largely used in minehunting.
The £15.4m Cetus is in a different league: the length of a bus, it will be the largest and most complex crewless submersible operated by European navies, designed and built specially for the Royal Navy by Plymouth-based tech firm MSubs, creating ten specialist jobs and supporting 70 more.
Funded by the Anti-Submarine Warfare Spearhead programme, run by the Royal Navy’s “Develop Directorate” from their Headquarters in Portsmouth and delivered through the Submarine Delivery Agency in Bristol, this is the latest in a series of novel underwater technologies being brought to life to deal with the threats of the next decade.
First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key said: This is a hugely exciting moment for Project Cetus as the Royal Navy surges ahead with the development of autonomous technology.
At 12 metres long and 2.2 metres in diameter, the 17-tonne submarine can fit inside a shipping container and be transported around the world to wherever the Fleet needs it.
The unarmed battery-powered craft will be able to dive deeper than any vessel in the current submarine fleet and cover up to 1,000 miles in a single mission.
Acting as an operational demonstrator, the goal is for Cetus – and its successors – to work side-by-side with traditional crewed submarines, such as the current Astute-class hunter-killers, or independently.
The crewless submarine is the latest step taken by the Royal Navy into the world of autonomy.
Autonomous minehunting systems are already operating in Scotland, driverless Pacific 24 sea boats are undergoing testing, numerous aerial drones are employed by ships both for reconnaissance/intelligence gathering and target practice for air defence.
And the Navy has invested in a dedicated tech trials ship, XV Patrick Blackett, to assess this new equipment and help determine how it might be used or integrated into the Fleet.
About MSubs
MSubs is an independent company specialising in the provision of Manned and Unmanned Submarines / Vehicles for defence, research, commercial survey and for fun.
It produced the largest unmanned underwater vehicle in the world weighing in at 63 tonnes and is 80 feet / 24m long and is used as a submarine tracking target.
