European states buy underwater drones for military use, manufacturer says

By Petra Wischgoll, Oliver Denzer and Cassell Bryan-Low

DAMP, Germany (Reuters) -Two European governments have agreed to buy underwater drones for military use, their German manufacturer told Reuters, as countries in the region ramp up defence spending to address what they say is an increased Russian threat.          

Autonomous underwater drones lend themselves to various military uses, from monitoring undersea cables, tracking submarine activity and looking for mines, specialists say. 

But they can be expensive, potentially costing millions of dollars each, while operating underwater for long periods of time is technically challenging.

Bremen-based Euroatlas told Reuters it had signed its first two contracts with European defence ministries for the sale of its autonomous underwater drone. 

The previously unreported deals for its Greyshark drone are worth a total of more than 100 million euros ($116 million), Euroatlas CEO Eugen Ciemnyjewski said in an interview.

He declined to identify which countries, beyond saying the two work closely together.

Ciemnyjewski said on Friday during a recent maritime demonstration of the Euroatlas drone in Germany that they would be used for a special military application, and would not be weaponised. He declined to provide more details.

INTEREST FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, IN EUROPE AND ASIA

The Greyshark is a mid-sized, long-range autonomous underwater drone that can be used in groups. Euroatlas says its current model has a maximum time limit of 5.5 days, and that it is working on a model that can spend 16 weeks underwater. 

Ciemnyjewski said he has received interest from other countries, including in Europe and Asia.

Naval drones have featured in the Ukraine-Russia war, particularly those which travel on the water's surface.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) recently unveiled the latest version of its Sea Baby surface naval drone that it says can operate at distances of over 1,500 km and carry a payload of up to 2,000 kg, about double the previous limit. 

Meanwhile, NATO countries have said they have deployed naval drones, in addition to frigates and patrol aircraft, as part of a mission to help protect critical infrastructure.

And Australia has said it will spend A$1.7 billion ($1.1 billion) on a fleet of Ghost Shark autonomous undersea vehicles, developed by its defence force and U.S. startup Anduril Industries, for surveillance and strikes.

($1 = 0.8642 euros)

($1 = 1.5418 Australian dollars) 

(Petra Wischgoll, Oliver Denzer and Cassell Bryan-Low; Editing by Alexander Smith)