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Gabriel Dominguez

As the Chinese military expands its autonomous underwater capabilities, the US Coast Guard is seeking new ways to counter undersea drones, highlighting what analysts describe as a gap in America’s defence.
The law enforcement agency said it was requesting information on commercially available systems capable of detecting, tracking and disabling unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).
While the July 24 notice does not mention China, it comes less than a year after Beijing unveiled several uncrewed maritime systems during a military parade, including the HSU-001 large underwater vehicle and the AJX-002 extra-large underwater vehicle. Beijing said all the weapons displayed in the September parade had already entered service.
The HSU-001 is widely believed to be intended for lengthy intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Far less is known about the larger AJX-002, but its size has led analysts to assess that it could carry heavier payloads and operate over much greater distances than smaller counterparts.
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. It is therefore seeking solutions that have already been tested – and preferably fielded – rather than concepts still under development.

The service said underwater drones were becoming increasingly common in civilian and military operations because they could operate covertly for long periods. It warned they could be used for intelligence gathering, surveillance, smuggling, sabotage or attacks on ships and ports.
That reflected a genuine capability gap, according to Timothy Heath, head of research firm Perceptum.
“Existing underwater detection systems, such as legacy networks of hydrophones, were developed during the Cold War to detect large submarines,” he said. “They are ill-suited to detecting the much smaller and stealthier UUVs available today.”
The coastguard said it would only consider technologies that could directly defeat or disable underwater drones, either as stand-alone systems or as part of a broader counter-UUV architecture.
Heath warned that as modern UUVs could evade many existing surveillance systems, commercial ports, naval bases and other critical maritime infrastructure were increasingly vulnerable.
“UUVs can strike warships in port, as Ukraine has done against a Russian Kilo submarine, or they can damage port infrastructure,” he said. “Like unmanned aerial vehicles, these weapons are also cheap and easy to use, so the threat is real and growing.”
China’s advances are one reason for growing US interest in counter-UUV technologies, but the trend extends well beyond Beijing, according to Heath.
“China’s technological advancements are one factor, but so are Ukraine’s strikes on Russian submarines in port with UUVs and efforts by Houthi rebels to use UUVs against ships,” he said.


“Unmanned aerial vehicles have proven highly effective weapons on battlefields around the world, and drones are accordingly likely to be used by all kinds of state and non-state actors on the ground, on the water, underwater and in the air.”
Defeating hostile underwater drones is likely to require a combination of technologies rather than a single weapon. Around ports and naval bases, some operators already use systems such as Sonardyne’s Sentinel sonar to detect, track and classify underwater threats, alongside security nets and floating barriers to protect critical infrastructure.
Anti-torpedo interceptors such as Atlas Elektronik’s SeaSpider could also potentially be adapted to attack UUVs, while electronic and acoustic countermeasures could disrupt a drone’s navigation or communications before it reaches its target.
But analysts say no single technology has yet provided a complete answer.
Looking ahead, Heath said the most promising counter-UUV technologies were likely to be new generations of compact underwater sensors.
“Probably the most useful and effective technology will be smaller and more sophisticated hydrophones and other underwater sensors,” he argued. “These newer technologies have proven effective at detecting UUVs and it is likely the US Coast Guard will seek similar systems to help improve its ability to protect ports and harbours.”


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As China expands its fleet, the US Coast Guard is scrambling for tech to plug a gap in the nation’s maritime defences


As China expands its fleet, the US Coast Guard is scrambling for tech to plug a gap in the nation’s maritime defences.


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

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}As China expands its fleet, the US Coast Guard is scrambling for tech to plug a gap in the nation’s maritime defences

As China expands its fleet, the US Coast Guard is scrambling for tech to plug a gap in the nation’s maritime defences