With underwater Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) gaining widespread attention due to their extensive use in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, many nations, including India, are working to develop such a capacity, particularly to neutralise submarines underwater.
India's current development of such equipment remains under wraps, Indian Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi has finally confirmed that the country is indeed developing underwater drones, and the programme has reached a stage where these assets will be inducted into the nation's blue-water force soon.
"We currently have certain types of underwater drones, but they are primarily for survey purposes. We are now working towards inducting drones for anti-submarine warfare and mine-detection roles. That work is already underway. Within the service, we are doctrinally very clear about where we need to go to enhance our underwater capabilities," Tripathi said during the Admiral JG Nadkarni Memorial Lecture in Pune.
The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) admitted that the underwater domain was a challenge not only for India but for global players as well.
"It is a difficult environment. All those who study physics understand that. Therefore, it will continue to remain a challenge. New technologies, including AI, are emerging, but in the larger scheme of things, the underwater domain will remain complex," Tripathi added.