Royal Navy orders first crewless submarine with record breaking dive capability to monitor deep-sea cables and pipelines

The £15.4m Cetus drone – named after a whale-like sea monster from Greek mythology – will move stealthily through the oceans, monitoring hostile activity, listening out for ships or submarines which may pose a threat to the fleet, and guarding key national infrastructure such as deep-sea cables and pipelines.

Measuring the length of a bus, the drone will be able to dive deeper than any vessel in the current submarine fleet and will become the largest and most complex crewless submersible operated by any European navy, according to the Royal Navy.

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key said: ‘This is a hugely exciting moment for Project Cetus as the Royal Navy surges ahead with the development of autonomous technology.

‘This Extra Large Autonomous Underwater Vehicle is a capability step-change in our mission to dominate the underwater battle space. And I am delighted that the project is able to support a small, innovative UK company which is at the cutting edge of this sector.’

The vessel has been funded by the Anti-Submarine Warfare Spearhead programme in Portsmouth and it will be designed and built by Plymouth-based tech firm MSubs, creating ten specialist jobs and supporting 70 more.

Brett Phaneuf, chief executive of MSubs, said his team was proud to take the lead in developing the next generation of autonomous underwater vehicle for the Royal Navy.

He said: ‘The faith the Royal Navy has shown in our small business is humbling and we look forward to working closely together in the future, as we have in the recent past, to develop and deploy Cetus, in the national interest.’

Autonomous minehunting systems are already operating in Scotland, driverless Pacific 24 sea boats are undergoing testing, and numerous aerial drones are employed by ships both for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and target practice for air defence.

Earlier this year, the Royal Navy celebrated the arrival of the cutting-edge ‘testbed ship’ XV Patrick Blackett, which will assess new equipment and drone technology.