Russia developing robot able to imitate any submarine

Specialists of Russia’s Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering have developed a conceptual design of a seaborne robotized system called Surrogat for holding naval exercises, the design bureau’s press office told TASS on Tuesday.

Currently negotiations are under way with the Navy on this project, the press office said.

Surrogat is equipped with a lithium-ion battery. This submarine imitator provides for up to 15-16 hours of naval exercises, reproducing an enemy submarine’s maneuvering, including at high speed, over this time.

The robot’s relatively large size (about 17 meters long) and the ability to carry towed sonar arrays for various applications will help realistically reproduce an enemy submarine’s physical fields - acoustic and electromagnetic, the Rubin design bureau said.

The imitator’s modular design allows changing its functionality: Surrogat will be able to imitate both a conventional and a nuclear-powered submarine, and also to carry out terrain mapping and reconnaissance.

"Today, combat submarines have to be involved for exercises or tests and this practice distracts them from carrying out their basic missions. The use of an unmanned imitator will help avoid this and cut the cost of drills. Besides, a submarine without a crew reduces risks while keeping simulated scenarios realistic," Rubin CEO Igor Vilnit told TASS.

"This apparatus will be distinguished by its simplicity in operation and the low cost of its maintenance and upgrade. Now we’re holding consultations with Navy representatives to make the imitator fully meet the Navy’s requirements," he said.

The Rubin design bureau also does not rule out that foreign customers may display interest in Surrogat.

The autonomous unmanned submarine Surrogat will have a displacement of about 40 tons, a cruising range of about 600 miles at a speed of 5 knots, a maximum speed of over 24 knots and the maximum immersion depth of 600 meters.

First published by TASS.