Artificial Intelligence Goes Underwater

China developing large, smart and relatively low-cost unmanned subs

roam oceans for recon, mine placement,  suicide attacks against enemy 

robotic submarines to be deployed 2020s

China built world's largest testing facility for surface drone boats 

developing AI-assisted support system for submarine commanders

submarines will have no human operators on board

will go out, handle assignments and return to base on their own

AI-powered subs “giants” compared to normal UUVs

reconfigurable to accommodate surveillance equipment, missiles, torpedoes

robotic submarines rely heavily on artificial intelligence 

decisions on their own: changing course, depth, avoid detection

gather intelligence, deploy mines, “chockpoints” ambush enemy targets

can ram into a high-value target

China developing a series of extra-large unmanned underwater vehicles, or XLUUV

Boeing developing Echo Voyager, 50-ton autonomous submarine
Echo Voyager 15m long and 2.6m in diameter

range 12,000km, can dive 3km, eight tons of cargo, Boeing said.

Russia built Status-6 autonomous torpedo 

cruise across large distances at high speed, 100-megaton warhead

produced and operated on a large scale at relatively low cost

Ohio-class submarine for the US Navy cost US$2 billion

12 Columbia-class subs more than US$120bil (RM486bil)

entire Orca programme is US$40mil according to Lockheed Martin.

AI sub can take down nuclear sub, perform kamikaze strike

AI subs put captains of other vessels under enormous pressure in battle

AI subs could learn from sinking of other AI vessels, adjust strategy continuously

Read more at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2156361/china-developing-unmanned-ai-submarines-launch-new-era-sea-power#Rzs1VZG10AtawIOp.99