【Military Subplane】Author: Sky Wolf
Recently, China Poly Technology Co., Ltd. unveiled the new ultra-large unmanned underwater vehicle (XLUUV) codenamed UUV-300 series at the 2024 Asian Defence Services Exhibition (DSA) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
These large unmanned underwater vehicles can perform surface and underwater reconnaissance, offensive operations and mine deployment, and the appearance of the UUV-300 undoubtedly means that China has made new progress in this area. Compared with the CSSC-705 unmanned underwater vehicle exhibited by China State Shipbuilding Corporation at last year's Abu Dhabi International Maritime Defense Exhibition, the unmanned underwater vehicle unveiled this time seems to be larger and more functional, and is divided into two models: UUV-300CD and UUV-300CB:
Among them, the smaller UUV-300CB has a length of 11.5 meters, a width of 2 meters, a height of 2.7 meters without deploying the mast, a hull diameter of 1.6 meters, a displacement of about 50 tons, and can dive to 300 meters underwater for operation, the power plant is driven by a motor, the maximum speed can reach 12 knots, and at a cruising speed of 5 knots, the range can reach 450 nautical miles, the underwater acoustic noise is less than 140 decibels, and it has UHF UHF/satellite/acoustic communication function, And the identification and monitoring of the target can be realized through the photoelectric periscope it carries. In addition, the large UUV is expected to carry up to four light torpedoes, mines, small UUVs, and even land-attack missiles.
The other UUV-300CD is even more impressive in size, with a length of 28 meters and a hull diameter of 2.5 meters, according to open sources. But the maximum depth is only 200 meters, the maximum speed is 10 knots, and at a cruising speed of 5 knots, the range is even shorter, only 330 nautical miles. I don't know why the performance data has decreased in the case of a larger size, and the possibility of having more functions or having more means of striking and carrying more weapons cannot be ruled out.
But in any case, with the first public appearance of the UUV-300 series of ultra-large unmanned underwater vehicles, let's just say that this is another unmanned underwater vehicle announced by China after CSSC-705, which means that the relevant technology has been fully broken through by us. Next, it is worth looking forward to whether this technology will be transferred to the research and development of other underwater combat equipment.
According to Poly's official video introduction, the UUV-300 series of ultra-large unmanned underwater vehicles can be used for a variety of purposes in future naval warfare, including performing anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship warfare, mobile minelaying and land-based missile strikes. For example, we can refer to the "wolf pack tactics" of German Navy submarines in World War II, and deploy these ultra-large unmanned underwater vehicles directly and in batches in some specific sea areas (such as some strait entrances and exits, important waterways, etc.) in advance.
Then, when the anti-submarine aircraft or anti-submarine helicopter reconnoiters and discovers the traces of enemy submarines, the anti-submarine information is transmitted back to the UUV-300 submarine unmanned aerial vehicle group that is waiting for an opportunity in the ocean. After the unmanned underwater vehicle maneuvers to the suspicious sea area, it first accurately finds the position of the enemy submarine through active sonar, calculates the coordinate position of the enemy submarine, and then launches a torpedo to attack.
In addition, these unmanned underwater vehicles can also autonomously monitor and attack all underwater targets that enter the entrance of the waterway or intrude into the sea area. In fact, this has entered the category of artificial intelligence-led operations, and if it can become a reality, it will certainly form a very big help to our current relatively weak anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
Compared with traditional underwater submarine warfare, the biggest advantage of these ultra-large unmanned underwater vehicles is that they can achieve "zero casualties" in actual combat, and even if they are unfortunately sunk in battle, there will be no loss of personnel. The production cost and difficulty of the UUV-300 series of ultra-large unmanned underwater vehicles will be much lower than those of various types of submarines currently in service in the Chinese Navy, which is very suitable for large-scale construction in wartime.
It is no exaggeration to say that this is equivalent to underwater cruise missiles and drones, looking at the current Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, people's impression of traditional naval warfare will also quietly change. For example, if we can delineate an "electronic fence" for these super-large unmanned underwater vehicles in the anti-submarine mission in the sea area, and declare in wartime that as long as the underwater targets in the fence are identified as hostile targets, then we can directly block the relevant sea areas and prevent external interference.
In short, for the UUV-300 series of ultra-large unmanned underwater vehicles unveiled at the 2024 Asian Defense Services Exhibition, it is very likely that it originated from one of the designs that the Chinese Navy did not choose to serve, and combined with our fine tradition of selling one generation, equipping one generation, and developing one generation, the development speed of China's underwater warfare equipment and tactics has obviously exceeded our imagination, allowing the Chinese Navy, especially in anti-submarine warfare, to achieve corner overtaking for the first time, which is a milestone for the transformation of the Chinese Navy's underwater warfare.