Inventory of Russian Navy's unmanned combat capabilities

The initial establishment of Russia's unmanned system is already at an advantage. As early as the 1950s, the Soviet Union began researching unmanned aerial vehicles. At that time, the "Tu" series of tactical unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, launched by the Tupolev Design Bureau, could penetrate deep into the enemy's abdomen and climb high mountains, completing combat missions excellently. They were also popular for export to other countries. In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union had already established a complete reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle corps, and the systematization of unmanned combat had been significantly improved. However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia was temporarily stagnant in the field of unmanned combat. At the beginning of the 20th century, in order to seize strategic opportunities in the deep-sea and Arctic regions, Russia identified unmanned underwater vehicles as a new growth point for development.

The "harpsichord" is Russia's earliest independently developed unmanned underwater vehicle, with its head covered by a hemispherical fairing and its main components placed in a cylindrical shell. The mobile speed is up to 2.9 knots, which can maintain a stable sailing distance of 300 kilometers and ensure smooth communication and transmission of high-resolution images. The "harpsichord" 1R, developed by the Institute of Marine Technology of the Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has completed its mission of diving into the Japanese Sea for scientific exploration, surveying the continental shelf, and participating in Arctic exploration activities. The harpsichord series has made significant contributions in monitoring underwater pipeline communication equipment, exploring energy, and salvaging debris.

On February 15, 2014, Russian Prime Minister Medvedev signed an order announcing the establishment of a robot technology research and testing center under the Ministry of Defense, mainly to conduct experiments on military robot technology integrated systems. The development of Russia's unmanned combat systems has returned to a high-speed period. In terms of building unmanned combat teams, the Russian military is also at the forefront. On December 12, 2014, the Russian military deployed a drone squadron for the first time in the Arctic region of the Russian Navy to strengthen its control over the Arctic region. The Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet has set up an "outpost" unmanned aerial vehicle unit at the aviation base in Kamchatka to detect and identify ground and sea targets. At the same time, the Russian Navy also plans to establish drone special units in the Crimean and Pacific fleets, and form an independent drone squadron in the Northern Fleet.

On December 16, 2015, Russian Federation President Putin signed a presidential decree announcing the establishment of the National Robotics Technology Development Center. According to the unmanned combat system plan of the Russian Ministry of Defense, by 2025, the proportion of unmanned combat systems in the Russian military equipment system will exceed 30%.

With various unmanned combat equipment shining brightly on the modern battlefield, demonstrating its enormous combat effectiveness and tactical value, countries around the world are intensifying their research and development of unmanned equipment, and Russia, as an old military power, is not willing to fall behind. As the main development direction of naval information weapons and equipment construction, Russia has invested a lot of manpower and material resources in the field of naval unmanned combat platforms, and has achieved considerable success. The most dazzling achievements include unmanned equipment such as the "Sea Eagle 10" unmanned aerial vehicle, the "Poseidon" unmanned underwater vehicle, and the "Salma" underwater vehicle.

The "Sea Diao-10" is a small unmanned aerial vehicle developed by a Russian special technology company in 2011. The aircraft is launched by a catapult and uses a low-power gasoline engine to drive the propeller blades for flight. The aircraft has a payload of only 5 kilograms, a top speed of 170 kilometers per hour, a range of 16-18 hours, a maximum ceiling of 5000 meters, and a maximum range of 600 kilometers. So far, the "Sea Eagle-10" unmanned aerial vehicle has been widely used in the Russian military. In order to meet the needs of various missions, the Russian military has repeatedly improved the drone to enable it to perform covert reconnaissance, surveillance, and electronic warfare tasks. Due to its compact size, flexibility, and reliability, the "Sea Eagle-10" unmanned aerial vehicle has been favored by the Navy and equipped on the Russian Navy's 22800 stealth frigate. It is mainly used for reconnaissance of water areas and detecting the results of fire strikes, as well as reconnaissance of the surrounding area when the mother ship is turned off for radar avoidance, greatly enhancing the survival and detection capabilities of the frigate. In addition, future new frigates will also be equipped with the "Sea Eagle-10" unmanned aerial vehicle to enhance their comprehensive combat capabilities.

In addition, the highly anticipated Russian "ultra long range strategic nuclear torpedo" - the "Poseidon" nuclear powered unmanned underwater vehicle - also underwent its first test at the end of June 2021. Poseidon - an unmanned underwater vehicle designed and manufactured by the Ruby Design Bureau, equipped with a specially developed nuclear power unit with high power to weight ratio and fast response time. It can carry conventional warheads or nuclear warheads equivalent to 2 million tons of TNT, effectively striking aircraft carrier formations and destroying coastal defense fortifications. It has a range of over 6000 kilometers, a diving depth of up to 3000 feet, and a maximum underwater speed of about 60 knots, making it the most powerful torpedo currently available. It is precisely this weapon that is difficult to detect with existing detection methods, and countermeasures are even more elusive. Coupled with its extremely powerful nuclear deterrence, the US media simply refers to it as the "doomsday nuclear torpedo". After the new generation of Russian nuclear submarines capable of carrying the Poseidon nuclear torpedo enters service, the Russian Navy will be able to fully utilize its technological advantages and greatly enhance its combat effectiveness.

At the 2021 Yekaterinburg International Industrial Innovation Exhibition in Russia, Almaz Antai Group showcased the "Salma" autonomous unmanned underwater vehicle model. The vehicle is designed with a maximum cruising distance of 8.5 kilometers and is equipped with an anaerobic power unit, an electrochemical based generator, and a low-temperature fuel storage and supply system, enabling it to have an autonomous range of up to 90 days. In addition, the drone was designed with many new materials and equipped with high-precision navigation, communication equipment, and various tools to cope with various complex tasks underwater. Thanks to the support of new technologies, the "Salma" unmanned underwater vehicle can conduct long-term deep-sea ocean research and undertake tasks such as maintaining underwater communication cables, oil and gas equipment, searching for underwater objects, sunken ships, etc., reducing manpower and financial investment. In the future, the "Salma" unmanned underwater vehicle will be deployed in the Arctic to meet the needs of the northern route and become one of the components of Russia's Arctic strategy.

Ocean power struggle, future naval warfare system gradually forming

There is great potential for future maritime unmanned combat systems. With the continuous development and breakthroughs of deep-sea submersible technology, a large number of new high-tech deep-sea equipment have emerged. Research on multi-level command information networks at sea and deep sea, as well as distributed cluster and unmanned collaborative combat exploration, have become new hotspots at present. As an important connecting node for land, sea, and air joint operations, unmanned underwater vehicles (UAVs) can conduct long-term reconnaissance and tracking of enemy waters and ships with their excellent stealth, maneuverability, and powerful information acquisition capabilities. After being equipped with weapons, they have become an unbeatable killer move.

Global climate change and the continuous melting of the Arctic ice sheet have led to the strengthening of Russia's Arctic strategy. In recent years, all branches of the US military have introduced Arctic strategies, and the US and Russia have continued to strengthen their military construction in the Arctic region, conducting increasingly frequent military exercises. The two sides have engaged in fierce competition for the right to speak in the Arctic region. Unmanned underwater vehicles capable of performing complex tasks are important weapons and equipment for the Russian military to enhance combat effectiveness and regional deterrence.

In peacetime, unmanned underwater vehicles represented by "Salma" can perform daily maintenance of underwater equipment and survey of marine hydrological conditions, and gain early knowledge of the battlefield environment in sensitive waters. In times of war, naval unmanned equipment such as the "Sea Eagle-10" drone can not only perform tasks such as covert reconnaissance, monitoring, and electronic warfare, but also serve as data transmitters to establish data exchange lines between drones, unmanned boats, unmanned submersibles, and manned vehicles, share information, achieve coordinated operations of land, sea, and air, and enhance the combat effectiveness of the entire army. The new strategic weapons represented by the Poseidon nuclear torpedo will undertake the task of nuclear deterrence and striking important military targets of the enemy.

With the rapid development of strategies and tactics related to unmanned underwater vehicles and deep-sea unmanned combat, countries around the world are vigorously developing their own unmanned combat capabilities. Unmanned underwater vehicles are forming an integrated maritime unmanned combat system with drones, unmanned boats, and manned ships, and have become the development trend of future ocean unmanned combat, greatly improving the efficiency of maritime combat.

Source: Bright Military