Hanwha Ocean’s uncrewed Combat XLUUV is the third of its kind to fire torpedoes.

A South Korean builder of commercial and military ships, Hanwha Ocean, unveiled a combat submarine drone called Combat XLUUV – which stands for “extraordinary extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle” – at the 2023 edition of the MADEX international maritime and defense expo. 

While XLUUVs have been gaining traction in naval warfare, the concept of armed XLUUVs has remained largely unexplored by most countries: Israel, Japan, France, and Germany were previously reported to be working on non-armed XLUUV projects.

The significance of Hanwha Ocean's Combat XLUUV lies in its unique feature – it boasts two torpedo tubes, setting it apart from other XLUUV projects worldwide. As of now, the only other known armed XLUUV initiatives with torpedo capabilities were those undertaken by China and India.

Notably, even the US Navy's ORCA does not have torpedo deployment capabilities, though it can lay mines. The introduction of torpedoes on an unmanned submarine suggests an advanced level of autonomy, enabling it to make independent decisions to engage targets, according to NavalNews. 

The Combat XLUUV measures 23 meters in length and has a displacement of 60 tons. The vessel is equipped with two torpedo tubes, presumably designed to accommodate Tiger Shark wire-guided heavyweight torpedoes. Additionally, the hull features conformal sonar arrays and utilizes an X-rudder configuration. The vessel relies on advanced Lithium-Ion batteries and AIP (air-independent propulsion) systems.

Although it is autonomous at the large of the sea, the drone still can be managed remotely by human operators.

Hanwha Ocean received financial backing from South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration in 2022 to carry out a concept study regarding the feasibility of uncrewed submarines, which is expected to conclude by the end of this year.

The Combat XLUUV initiative is part of a larger naval strategy known as the "Navy Sea GHOST" project – a revolutionary operational concept designed to integrate both manned and unmanned systems into naval operations seamlessly. Artificial intelligence is supposed to take a leading or major role.

Alongside the Combat XLUUV, Hanwha Ocean also unveiled a scale model of the GHOST Commander, a mothership designed to deploy various large unmanned systems, without releasing any specific details about it.

More about Hanwha Ocean.