The UAV that hunts submarines

Torpido carrying sub-hunter UAV (T-650) is built by BAE Systems to carry as much as 660 pounds as far as 18 miles.

Someday in the future, the latest anti-submarine weapon could arrive in the form of a torpedo deployed from a large drone. A result of a partnership between British defense giant BAE and drone firm Malloy Aeronautics, the T-650 is an all-electric heavy-lift drone. Its payloads will include everything from battlefield resupply to torpedoes launched at submarines.

The T-650 debuted at the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition as a mock-up suspended in the air with a BAE-made Sting Ray torpedo attached. The torpedo, in service since the 1980s, can already be fired from ships, helicopters, and planes, where it uses sonar and navigation systems to autonomously track and hit targets.

Putting it on a drone expands the range at which a ship can hunt submarines, and it also means that smaller vessels have a flexible way to fight that takes up only a minimum of deck space.

The T-650 is built to carry a payload of 660 lbs at a range of up to 18 miles, with a maximum speed of 87 mph. What is most remarkable about the drone is that it is designed to do this entirely on electric power.

Powered by electric, it can fly much more quietly. Ships use acoustic detection as part of the range of ways they detect incoming threats. With a smaller frame and a relatively silent approach, it’s likely a torpedo-armed T-650 could approach close enough to attack without being detected. With its 18-mile range, it is also likely that it could fly far enough away from a host ship to launch an attack seemingly out of the blue.

Ultimately, how effective the drone is depends on how well it employs whatever payloads are attached to it. By exploring the possibility of a semi-autonomous scou and anti-submarine drone, navies could expand the capacity of existing ships to find and fight enemies. With the possibility of automated resupply, the T-650 could make ships and deployed marines more sustainable without traditional airfields or harbors.

Source: Popular Science