Chinese researchers warn unmanned undersea vehicles lower barriers to naval warfare
National Defence University writers point to AUKUS and UUV affordability as drivers of change in undersea operations.
Quick Look
Chinese military researchers Shi Guanglei and Shi Haiming warn that unmanned undersea vehicles and the AUKUS pact are lowering barriers to undersea warfare by offering low-cost, scalable capabilities for seabed control.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Undersea cables carry 99 per cent of intercontinental data traffic, supporting trillions in financial transactions.
“The barrier to entry for undersea warfare is lowering,” Shi Guanglei and Shi Haiming from the National Defence University wrote in Science and Technology Daily, pointing to the Aukus pact between Australia, Britain and the United States as a key driver of this change.
“In the past, underwater operations relied heavily on crewed submarines, which were expensive and posed significant risks to personnel, making it difficult for small and medium countries to conduct underwater military activities.”
They added that small and medium-sized unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) were “low-cost, easy to deploy in batches and pose no risk of casualties, allowing countries to seize control of the seabed”.
The article said undersea cables carried 99 per cent of intercontinental data traffic and played a key role in supporting online services and daily cross-border financial transactions widely estimated to be worth US$10 trillion.
Open Questions
- How will nations protect critical undersea infrastructure from UUVs?
