Defense Unicorn Helsing develops underwater drone

According to Helsing, the drones can patrol for up to three months at a time, searching for underwater threats. The built-in AI recognizes sounds from ships and submarines.

Helsing, a defense company specializing in AI technologies, has developed an underwater drone for the protection of ships and critical infrastructure. The autonomous glider, the SG-1 Fathom, can be mass-produced and is capable of forming large-scale surveillance constellations of sensors, the company said. The drones can patrol for up to three months at a time, searching for underwater threats.

The company also presented the Lura software platform for continuous underwater surveillance, which is connected to the drone system . Based on a large acoustic neural network, Lura is capable of classifying and localizing acoustic signatures – the sounds generated by ships and submarines – "with previously unattained sensitivity and accuracy," promises Helsing.

“The Lura model can detect acoustic signatures 10 times more quietly than other AI models, even distinguish between specific ships of the same class, and do so up to 40 times faster than human operators,” the company said.

The Munich-based company already builds the HX-2 kamikaze drone used by Ukraine. Helsing describes Lura and SG-1 Fathom as a "new approach to underwater combat," he says, adding that it has never been so complex and threatening. Conventional capabilities are insufficient to meet the scale of the challenge.

Western countries have been searching for ways to protect pipelines and data cables on the seabed from sabotage, attacks and spying attempts for some time.

Helsing was founded in 2021 and develops AI for various military equipment—tanks, submarines, and jets. This AI can quickly evaluate vast amounts of data generated by sensors and weapon systems. According to insiders, Helsing reached a valuation of five billion euros in 2024.

dpa / np