Surrogates-V
This submersible drone is supposed to protect Putin’s nuclear submarines like a bulldog
An AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle) weighs about 40 tons
© PR
The Rubin design firm is working on autonomous mini-submarines. The Surrogate-V model serves as an attack dog for a nuclear weapons carrier. Anyone who wants to sink the nuclear submarine must first get past the aggressive drones.
Rubin, the Russian Navy’s design bureau, has released new renderings of the Vedomi (Surrogate-V) underwater drone. The robot submarine was shown for the first time in 2022 with the design of the “Arcturus”. Apparently a whole family of fully autonomous submersible vehicles is to be developed, Surrogate-V is the military variant. It is a further development of well-known mini-submarines, used for deception purposes by imitating the acoustic signature of “large” submarines.
Surrogate-V is expected to have a range of 1,500 kilometers. The drone is powered electrically and the battery pack can be charged on board using generators. The tasks of such boats are diverse. They can mislead the enemy and thus protect their own nuclear submarines. The small submarines can use their sonar more aggressively to detect the enemy’s boats. And last but not least, they can carry out their own attacks.
Underwater drones do not require a pressure cell
Building underwater drones is particularly attractive because the construction of the submarine becomes much easier if you can do without the pressure hull for the crew. If there is no “gas bubble” inside, the pressure at depth doesn’t play much of a role. An AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) can hide from other submarines and ships at depth or launch its attacks from there. Without people on board, the energy requirement during rest periods also drops – a drone like this can lie in wait for a very long time.
One submarine – three protectors
The design of the “Arcturus” provided for space at the rear of the hangar for up to three boats of the “Surrogate-V” type. To achieve this, the number of launch silos for ballistic missiles was reduced to twelve. The “Arcturus” would be a strategic submarine of a completely new type. The three accompanying AUVs are the bulldogs of the Arcturus, built to protect the mother ship. Current AUVs are merely complex decoys. According to submarine expert HI Sutton, Surrogate-V, on the other hand, is an attack and defense drone. This is indicated by a relatively large sonar array. Surrogate-V is also equipped with a detection system that can “sniff out” radiation and the chemicals in a submarine’s wake. The pump-jet propulsion is expected to give the AUV high speed. Protected by three AUVs, other attack submarines or surface ships will find it very difficult to combat the “Arcturus”.
Such AUVs should not be confused with the doomsday torpedo “Poseidon”.
Sources:RIA, Naval News, Top war
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