German defense tech firm unveils new autonomous underwater glider

German defense technology company Helsing has unveiled a new autonomous underwater glider that can patrol for up to three months at a time in search of underwater threats.

As informed, the drone, called SG-1 Fathom, is designed for underwater surveillance to monitor the breadths and depths of the oceans. A single operator can task and monitor hundreds of gliders from a maritime headquarters, receiving accurate intelligence at 10% of the cost of crewed anti-submarine warfare (ASW) patrols, according to Helsing.

SG-1 Fathom will use Lura, a software platform and advanced AI system developed from first principles, to rethink maritime surveillance. The system uses autonomous mass that is sovereign, scalable,e and affordable to detect threats in the subsurface domain.

Based on a large acoustic model – similar to large language models – Lura is able to classify and localise acoustic signatures (the sounds made by ships and submarines) with unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy.

Lura’s use of a large acoustic model enables it to detect acoustic signatures 10x quieter than other AI models, even differentiating between specific vessels from within the same class, and at a speed up to 40x faster than human operators.

“Lura detects so our navies can deter. We must harness new technologies to keep pace with the threats against our critical infrastructure, national waters, and way of life. Deploying AI to the edge of underwater constellations will illuminate the oceans and deter our adversaries, for a strong Europe,” Gundbert Scherf, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Helsing, said.

“To protect ourselves from increasing threats, especially underwater, we must do defence differently. The UK has a proud history of maritime innovation and must never stand still. At Helsing, we know how important it is to learn and adapt from each mission. Lura and SG-1 will form an ever-evolving mission cycle, learning from each deployment to iterate at the pace of the threat – a true 21st century defence capability,” Amelia Gould, General Manager, Helsing Maritime, added.

Helsing designed Lura and SG-1 following interest from several navies in adaptable and scalable underwater surveillance. The capabilities were recently demonstrated at HM Naval Base Portsmouth for a select audience of users and industry partners.

Helsing is partnering with Blue Ocean Marine Tech Systems, Ocean Infinity and Qinetiq to scale and deliver Lura and SG-1 to customers. The company plans to deploy the system within the year.