NATO States Weighing New Underwater Drones

By Ellie Cook—reporting from northern Germany

Senior Defense Reporter

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Several European members of NATO are considering buying new high-endurance underwater drones for their navies to protect critical infrastructure and hunt Russian submarines.

The pair of drones, known collectively as GreyShark, were developed by German technology companies EUROATLAS and EvoLogics for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions, including information on vital pipelines and cables along the seabed.

The autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) can also be used for mine detection and anti-submarine warfare (ASW), the companies say. Many NATO nations are heavily investing in ASW and the alliance held drills focused on countering submarines in the Baltic Sea this month.

A shorter-range version of the penguin-shaped drone, dubbed Bravo, and a longer-lasting, hydrogen-cell-powered iteration called Foxtrot have been undergoing trials in the Baltic off the coast of northern Germany.

EUROATLAS declined to specify which countries were looking at acquiring the drone but said multiple nations in the region had expressed different levels of interest in the AUVs. Asian customers are also considering buying the technology, according to those involved.

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A German military source, confirming the German navy's interest in the drone to Newsweek, described the AUV as a "useful asset."

Bremen-based EUROATLAS said it had developed the underwater drones in just a year and a half, opting for speed over meticulously laid-out development plans as NATO countries across heavily invest in defense, often for the first time in decades.

"In the past, we had a lot of time, but no money," Eugen Ciemnyjewski, EUROATLAS's managing director, told Newsweek aboard a vessel in the Baltic, floating close to the northern German city of Eckernförde, during a demonstration of the GreyShark. "Now, we have a lot of money, but no time."

NATO nations pledged in June to raise "core" defense spending to 3.5 percent of their GDP, which would be funneled into buying new military equipment and other capabilities. Another 1.5 percent would be earmarked for defense-related spending, such as infrastructure the armed forces may need to use.

U.S. President Donald Trump's return brought a long-standing European reliance on U.S. capabilities to an end, sending continental members of the alliance scrambling to pour money into defense, although some involved and observing are unconvinced even the brisk pace of investment in the armed forces is happening quick enough.

Militaries in Europe "need something now," Ciemnyjewski said. "They need something yesterday. "If you are not market available, you do not exist—end of."

The Foxtrot GreyShark drones, each with 17 sensors of various types, are touted as able to spend up to 16 weeks under the waves without human interference, doesn’t need to communicate with its operators and makes up its own mind when to switch from observing cables to hunting submarines.

NATO in January said it would beef up its presence in the Baltic, including operating more frigates and maritime patrol aircraft, shortly after a spate of suspected sabotage incidents in the region. Several undersea cables were cut or damaged in November and December 2024, including four data cables and a major power link on December 25.

A Finnish court in October dismissed the case against the crew of the Eagle S, a Cook Islands-flagged tanker that faced charges of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications. Prosecutors had alleged that the tanker, believed to be part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil-carrying, sanctions-evading vessels, had dragged its anchor along the seabed for roughly 56 miles. The crew denied wrongdoing.

An estimated 98 percent of the world’s data speeds through well over 1 million kilometers of underwater cables, the vast networks vulnerable to damage or sabotage.

'You Cannot Wait'

The Baltic is occasionally dubbed a NATO lake, mostly bracketed by members of the alliance. But Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave peers out onto the sea, home to the country’s Baltic Sea naval fleet, powerful electronic warfare systems, ground troops and missile systems.

Intelligence assessments from Western security agencies say Russia could be only a handful of years away from being able to launch a full-scale armed attack on a NATO state, most likely the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

"The threat is now—it's not in 10 years' time, or 15 years' time," Ciemnyjewski said. "You cannot wait."

Russia is routinely executing hybrid warfare operations against the alliance, also known as “gray zone” tactics, officials said. Hybrid warfare stops short of armed clashes–it can refer to sabotaging critical infrastructure like pipelines and cables, or operations to disrupt elections, spreading misinformation and spearing networks with cyberattacks.

Ciemnyjewski said the Foxtrot GreyShark could cover 4,800 square kilometers of seabed in each four-month deployment, and a swarm—typically described by the company as six drones working together—would be aware of the location of vital infrastructure to quickly detect any changes to pipelines or cables.

It "wouldn't be easy" to cover all critical undersea infrastructure, Ciemnyjewski said, "but it's definitely manageable."

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