China has deployed a fleet of 12 underwater drones in the Indian Ocean. According to sources, these drones known as 'Sea Wing Gliders' were launched in December 2019 and these drones had made around 3,500 observations till February 2020
China has deployed a fleet of 12 underwater drones in the Indian Ocean. According to sources, these drones known as 'Sea Wing Gliders' were launched in December 2019 and these drones had made around 3,500 observations till February 2020.
These Sea Wing Gliders are a Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (UUV) which are capable of operating for months without any human crew.
Reports claimed that these underwater drones were launched in Indian Ocean by the specialist survey ship Xiangyanghong 06. Security experts claimed that these drones are being used by China to monitor the activities of Naval forces of other countries but Chinese government has repeatedly maintained that these drones are being used to collect data related to oceanography.
The Sea Wing Gliders underwater drones of China are quite similar to the Littoral Battlespace Sensing-Glider (LBS-G) used by the U.S. Navy. It may be recalled that a U.S. Navy LBS-G was captured by China in international waters in the South China Sea on December 15, 2016. According to China, the American underwater drone was in the process of being recovered by USNS Bowditch when it was captured from the water by Chinese Navy. The incident had sparked a diplomatic spat between the two countries and Beijing had ultimately returned the captured glider to Washington.
These gliders employ variable-buoyancy propulsion which allows them to sink and then rise to the surface again. These gliders have a balloon-like device filled with pressurized oil and this device is inflated and deflated to control the movement of the gliders. The large wings of these underwater drones help them glide forward as they go and also help them to run for long periods of time.
No comments:
Post a Comment