The underwater technology sector has undergone transformative advancements globally, with unprecedented growth in autonomous and remotely operated systems. The global underwater robotics market reached USD 4.7 billion in 2024 and is projected to expand to USD 11.9 billion by 2033.
Among the key regions driving innovation, India, China, and Pakistan are making significant strides in developing indigenous underwater capabilities with strategic military and scientific applications.
Global Underwater Technology Advances
Communication and Data Transmission
Recent breakthroughs in underwater communication have addressed fundamental challenges in subsea operations. Blue and green laser technology has enabled high-speed optical communication, increasing data transmission rates by up to 1,000 times compared to traditional methods, and when paired with acoustic systems, these technologies facilitate more efficient communication between underwater vehicles and surface stations. Additionally, artificial intelligence and machine learning have improved data compression and error-correction techniques, enabling transmission of complex information through previously impractical distances.
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs)
The development of autonomous systems represents a paradigm shift in ocean exploration. Advances in autonomous underwater vehicles have fundamentally transformed ocean exploration, with robotic submarines operating independently without crew on board, such as the Russian Vityaz-D, which reached the Mariana Trench at 10,028 meters depth in 2020. The underwater robotics market saw significant developments in 2024–2025, with remotely operated vehicles holding 62.11% market share while autonomous underwater vehicles advanced at a 15.60%, compound annual growth rate through 2030. Strategic merger and acquisition activity accelerated during 2024–2025, with BlueHalo acquiring VideoRay in November 2024 and Kraken Robotics purchasing 3D at Depth for USD 17 million.
Sensor and Optical Technologies
Recent innovations include the integration of advanced optical sensors with inspection-class remotely operated vehicles to enhance underwater asset inspections, and developments in acoustic technology for ocean exploration, including advancements in sonar systems for seabed, subsea, and water column data collection.
Miniaturized Robotics
Miniature underwater robots have emerged as key tools for marine exploration, with recent developments including centimetre-level wireless control, movement speeds up to hundreds of millimeters per second, underwater three-dimensional motion capabilities, robot swarms, and underwater operation robots.
India’s Underwater Technology Initiatives
Strategic Development Programs
India has prioritized the development of indigenous underwater capabilities as a critical component of maritime security. The Indian Navy floated a tender in 2010 to invite interest from state-owned and private defence companies for at least 10 autonomous underwater vehicles, which were expected to carry out surveillance, reconnaissance, and oceanographic survey missions operable at depths of 500 meters for 7 to 8 hours.
Indigenous AUV Projects
AUV-150 and Neerakshi: AUV-150, developed by Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute scientists in Durgapur, West Bengal, was built to operate 150 meters under the sea with cruising speed up to four knots, equipped with advanced power, propulsion, navigation, and control systems. More recently, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers launched an autonomous underwater vehicle named Neerakshi, a collaborative effort with Aerospace Engineering Private Limited, capable of mine detection, mine disposal, and underwater survey functions. Maya AUV: The Maya autonomous underwater vehicle, developed by the National Institute of Oceanography, is a small autonomous underwater vehicle with an endurance of 7.2 hours, total length of approximately 1.7 meters, and is rated to 200-meter depth operations, with development jointly funded by NIO and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology.
High Endurance AUV Program (HEAUV)
DRDO has been testing a prototype of its High Endurance Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, with the maiden surface run carried out in March 2024 at Cochin Shipyard Limited, and recently in March 2025, HEAUV was successfully tested in a lake.
The Indian Ministry of Defence released a Request for Information in 2018 to procure eight HEAUVs for the Indian Navy for anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasure, and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance operations as well as bathymetric and oceanographic data gathering.
Extra Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (XLUUVs)
Ministry of Defence has initiated a project to design and develop Extra Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, with the Navy interested in procuring up to 12 XLUUVs once a prototype is built and clears all trials, with specifications indicating maximum length with payload of up to 50 meters, width up to 5 meters, and gross weight without ballast under 300 tons.
Man-Portable Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (MP-AUVs)
The DRDO has successfully developed a new generation of Man-portable Autonomous Underwater Vehicles designed specifically for naval mine countermeasure missions, developed by the Naval Science &Amp; Technological Laboratory in Visakhapatnam, consisting of multiple small, portable underwater vehicles equipped with advanced sensors and onboard artificial intelligence.
Academic Contributions
Indian Institute of Technology students have developed the Matsya autonomous underwater vehicle, winning the best Indian team title at Robo Sub, an international autonomous underwater vehicle competition, for four consecutive years since 2012, with applications extended to dropping markers, shooting torpedoes, grabbing objects, listening to underwater sound sources, and identifying different colours and shapes autonomously.
Sensor Development
In May 2023, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and scientists from the DRDO collaborated to develop Piezoelectric Microelectromechanical systems technology sensors for underwater communications, primarily used in defence applications with naval forces.
China’s Underwater Technology Capabilities
Strategic Vision and Scale
China has embarked on an ambitious program to develop advanced underwater systems for both scientific research and military applications. A document published in 2019 by the Chinese Society of Naval Architecture lists 159 undersea vehicle research projects under development at more than 40 Chinese universities, a significant increase over the 15 major universities that had constructed underwater vehicles previously.
Major AUV Development Centres
China’s underwater technology is spearheaded by three primary research institutions:
State Intelligence Agency (SIA): Developing platforms including the Qianlong series of autonomous underwater vehicles for deep-sea research and surveillance operations.
China State Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC): The Haishen series of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles developed by CSIC’s 701 Research Institute represents mid- to large-sized platforms, with the Haishen 6000 weighing more than 3.5 tons and 25 feet long, capable of diving to depths of 6,000 meters. It is equipped with multiple detection devices including ultra-short baseline positioning systems, aircraft black box search sonar arrays, deep-sea side scanning sonar, underwater cameras, and forward-looking sonar.
Harbin Engineering University (HEU): Harbin Engineering University began developing series of autonomous underwater vehicles in 1991, and has gradually expanded autonomous underwater vehicle testing in the South China Sea, with the Smart Water series today comprising five variants of different sizes, and HEU is also home to China’s State Key Laboratory of Underwater Vehicle Technology.
Notable AUV Systems
Sea-Whale 2000: The Chinese Academy of Sciences announced successful development and testing of the Sea-Whale 2000, a long-range, long-endurance autonomous underwater vehicle approximately 3 meters long with a weight of approximately 200 kilograms, capable of diving to depths of 2,000 meters, equipped with artificial intelligence technology and a range of sensors to detect temperature, salinity, current, trace chemicals, underwater visibility and biological activity.
Haidou 1: Other medium and large autonomous underwater vehicle prototypes set records for depth and distance in 2020, including State Intelligence Agency’s Haidou 1 and Sea-Whale 2000.
Deep-Sea Exploration Records: A model developed by Harbin Engineering University reached a record depth of 7,709 meters during deep-sea trials in February–March 2021, second only to the Russian autonomous underwater vehicle Vityaz-D, taking 1,543 pictures and 144 minutes of video footage during its deepest dive.
Technological Focus Areas
China has identified materials and reliability as basic research directions for autonomous underwater vehicles and focuses efforts on breakthroughs in key technologies including perception, communication/navigation, energy, autonomous navigation, and cooperative operation.
Military Applications and Strategic Implications
Advances in unmanned vehicle research may permit the Peoples Liberation Army Navy to use autonomous underwater vehicles to tap or sever undersea fiber-optic cables in a conflict, with cables that concentrate near northern Taiwan being crucial not just for information dissemination in Taiwan but also trans-Pacific data exchanges that facilitate global internet access.
Pakistan’s Underwater Technology Development
Pakistan has actively developed its autonomous underwater vehicle capabilities, recognizing their strategic importance for maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.
Demonstrated Platforms
At the 2025 Pakistan International Maritime Expo and Conference, Pakistani defence industry firms showcased unmanned aerial systems, unmanned surface vehicles, and autonomous underwater vehicle designs, including the Stingray Technologies unmanned surface vehicle, the Beyond Concept Muhassir; unmanned surface and autonomous underwater vehicles. During the Islamabad Parade Ground display, the Pakistan Navy showcased its Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, highlighting growing emphasis on unmanned maritime capabilities, with multiple types of autonomous underwater vehicles reportedly in service tailored for varied operational needs including intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance in littoral and deep-sea environments, mine countermeasures and seabed mapping, electronic warfare payloads, and kamikaze/loitering strike operations.
Strategic Assessment
Building unmanned underwater vehicles represents a plausible option for Pakistan to enhance its maritime capabilities, which has become imperative given the volatile geopolitical situation in the Indian Ocean Region, with maritime swarming technology being an attractive option due to its varied applications with large or medium autonomous underwater vehicles at relatively low production costs.
Development Infrastructure
These platforms appear to be in development at entities of the National Engineering and Scientific Commission, the lea ding state-owned defence research, development, and production entity, with an ecosystem of subsidiaries specializing in different domains.
Comparative Analysis
Development Maturity
India presents a balanced approach with multiple parallel programs at different technological maturity levels, ranging from small scientific research platforms to large-scale military systems. The involvement of multiple institutions including DRDO, shipyards, and academic institutions demonstrates broad institutional capacity.
China has achieved the highest degree of operational sophistication, with large-scale production capabilities and extensive research across 40 or more universities. The nation has demonstrated record-breaking depth achievements and long-endurance operations, positioning itself as a leader in deep-sea exploration technology.
Pakistan is in earlier stages of autonomous system development, focusing primarily on coastal defence applications. The emphasis on rapid deployment of diverse platform types suggests a strategy oriented toward operational flexibility rather than technological sophistication.
Market Positioning
The underwater robotics sector shows sustained growth with strong defence procurement driving demand. Oceaneering reported 67% remotely operated vehicle utilization in Q1 2025, while Kongsberg logged 40% growth in maritime new-build orders, signalling sustained demand across commercial and defence domains.
Key Technological Trends
Artificial Intelligence Integration:
All three nations are incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning into their underwater systems for enhanced autonomy, real-time decision-making, and swarm coordination capabilities.
Energy and Battery Systems
India’s DRDO’s Naval Materials Research Laboratory is developing hydrogen fuel cell power plants which may be used in future High Endurance Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, representing efforts to extend mission endurance beyond traditional battery capabilities.
Multi-Mission Capability
Modern underwater vehicles increasingly support multiple mission profiles including surveillance, reconnaissance, mine countermeasures, oceanographic data collection, and strike operations.
Conclusion
The advancement of underwater technologies globally has entered an accelerative phase, with autonomous systems becoming central to maritime strategies. India is establishing credible indigenous capabilities through coordinated efforts across government research institutions and private shipbuilders. China has established technological leadership in depth records and long-endurance operations while maintaining extensive research capacity across the academic sector. Pakistan is developing operational underwater drone capabilities focused on regional maritime security challenges.
The convergence of advanced sensors, artificial intelligence, improved battery technology, and autonomous control systems continues to expand the operational possibilities of underwater vehicles. As these technologies mature, they will increasingly influence naval strategy, coastal security operations, and ocean exploration across the Indo-Pacific region and globally.
