Super-heavy and autonomous: how the project to create the Surrogat-V underwater drone is developing in Russia

The promising underwater drone “Surrogat-V” (“Slave”) will provide stealth for Russian submarines, the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) said.

“It is planned that Surrogat-V will support the operations of manned submarines, primarily in terms of maintaining and restoring their stealth. “The “slave” will take on tasks that can unmask the “leader” (an inhabited submarine. -

RT

): communications, the use of active search tools (of the enemy. -

RT

),” says the corporation’s Telegram channel.

Let us remind you that “Surrogat-V” is being developed by specialists from the St. Petersburg Central Design Bureau of Marine Engineering (TsKB MT) “Rubin”. The concept of this drone was demonstrated at the Army 2022 exhibition.

The USC press service notes that Surrogat-V is being developed as part of the program to create “robotic equipment.” Earlier, the company spoke about the projects of civilian autonomous uninhabited underwater vehicles “Amulet-2” and “Vityaz-D”, intended for research and rescue work.

"Take the brunt"

According to information posted on the Central Design Bureau website, Surrogat-V is a “super-heavy autonomous underwater robot” that is designed for joint operations with manned submarines.

The device is a further development of the Surrogat submarine simulator of the same name, the project of which the Central Design Bureau presented in 2021. It was noted then that, using acoustics, a drone can imitate a “portrait” of a submarine to deceive the enemy.

• "Surrogate-V"

• © JSC "CDB MT "Rubin"

“Improving acoustic systems makes it possible to more and more confidently imitate the acoustic portrait of a submarine with an accuracy sufficient to deceive aircraft and shipborne detection systems, and in the future, stationary systems,” the company said then.

According to the developer, “Surrogate” is capable of being powered by a lithium-ion battery, and its cruising range is up to 600 miles (about 1.1 thousand km). Moreover, all this time it can simulate the maneuvering of a submarine, including at high speeds.

The Surrogat-B version has the same displacement as the simulator - about 40 tons. However, the cruising range of the device is expected to be increased to 800 nautical miles (about 1.4 thousand km) through the use of a new version of the lithium-ion battery. In this case, the device will be able to charge both on board the carrier ship and from bottom stations. A version with a power plant based on electrochemical generators is also being developed.

The new “Surrogate” will retain the ability to imitate a covered submarine. In particular, the drone will be able to “lead the enemy down the wrong trail,” perform distracting maneuvers and, if necessary, be ready to “take the hit,” Rubin explains.

However, the functionality of the new version will not be limited to this. Among the new features of the device is the ability to work as an “intelligent gateway between the submarine and the atmosphere.” This option will allow the submarine to secretly exchange data and receive navigation information.

“Having received information from the boat, the device transmits it to the satellite: immediately, after a specified time or after moving to a specified area. In the same way, it is possible to organize interaction with bottom network systems,” says the website of the Rubin Central Design Bureau for MT.

In addition to ensuring the submarine’s covert functioning, Surrogat-V is capable of conducting ice reconnaissance in areas with continuous ice cover and searching for mines.

“Obtaining this information using a robot is faster and safer than surveying the area using the submarine’s on-board equipment. In addition, the autonomy of Surrogate-V allows the submarine to solve other problems while the robot surveys the area,” the developers note.

• "Surrogate-V"

• © JSC "CDB MT "Rubin"

According to analysts, the mine search function could be useful now in the Black Sea, where Kyiv has installed many explosive devices.

“Mine detection is definitely a useful feature. The mine danger always exists, especially now in the Black Sea. Ice reconnaissance is also important - Russia is washed by many seas with different characteristics. This will be a good help for our sailors and will help them fulfill the tasks facing them,” said 1st Rank Reserve Captain Vasily Dandykin in a commentary to RT.

In addition, according to the Central Design Bureau, Surrogat-V will independently search for targets in given directions. For this purpose, it is equipped with on-board acoustic antennas and non-acoustic means. Unlike a submarine, the robot can also use non-stealthy methods of operation, such as active hydroacoustics, to search for the enemy, since its destruction is difficult due to its small size and maneuverability.

"Surrogat-V" can also be used as a target in naval exercises - the presence of hydroacoustic countermeasures on board allows you to simulate very complex tactical episodes. The use of drones during maneuvers will allow submarines not to be distracted from their main tasks and will reduce the risks and cost of training. At the same time, the realism of the exercises will be fully preserved, they say at Rubin.

According to the developer, the drone's simulation capabilities can also be useful when testing new submarine detection systems and new anti-submarine weapons.

"Wingman" for a submarine

Analysts believe that in the future, devices such as Surrogat-V can also be used to perform combat missions. In particular, Vasily Dandykin believes that such devices would be useful for destroying enemy drones.

• Autonomous uninhabited underwater vehicle of the ultra-small class "Amulet-2"

• © JSC "CDB MT "Rubin"

“The enemy appears to have modified drones that can go underwater. I think that devices such as Surragat-V could be used to destroy them. I hope that we will soon see such systems in action,” says the specialist.

In turn, naval historian and expert on the Russian Navy Dmitry Zhavoronkov notes that the development of unmanned systems for the fleet is becoming increasingly important. According to him, such devices can take over some of the functions of conventional ships.

“Nowadays, both in aviation and in the navy, automation, robotization and crewlessness are actively developing. All this is closely related to the growth of artificial intelligence functionality. Gradually, the designers went further, starting to create fully guided combat units with varying degrees of autonomy. “Surrogat-V” is just such a “wingman” for a submarine. If necessary, it will be able to take a strike, protecting the submarine, and also conduct reconnaissance, mine action, or, conversely, mine clearance,” the expert said in a commentary to RT.

The analyst did not rule out that Surrogat-V or its analogue may also have on board their own “small kamikaze drones for destroying mines.”

Such unmanned systems, says Dmitry Zhavoronkov, are in many ways the future of the fleet.

“This is our future. And it’s good that our designers from KB Rubin and Malachite are moving towards such concepts. Let's hope that these concepts will soon turn into finished products, as they say, “in hardware.” We are actually living in wartime, and the industry must correspond to these realities. The time it takes for new products to reach the theater of military operations must be reduced,” the specialist concluded.