Unmanned robotic submarine developed by grad students using a variety of materials including non metallic PVC pipe (source: http://pvc-innovation.wonderhowto.com/inspiration/robotic-unmanned-submarine-0130636).
“This issue is on our agenda like other issues and cases,” Sayyari told FNA when asked if the Iranian Navy has plans to build unmanned submarines and other types of unmanned underwater vehicles.
He didn’t provide any further details on the project (source: Fars news agency “Commander: Iranian Navy plans on building drone subs” http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920709000785).
“Unmanned submarines pose a very serious threat to the U.S. military”, according to one Pentagon source who refused to be identified for fear of retaliation or commenting to unauthorized new sources.
This source went on to explain that “Iran (and Russia in particular)has made significant advancement in the are of quite diesel engine technology, that makes such submarines hard to identify or hear underwater.”
You also have the problem of unmanned enemy subs sneaking into U.S. coastal areas and/or remotely detonating themselves in commercial shipping lanes.
In addition unmanned submarines can park themselves at the bottom of the ocean and sit undetected for long periods of time and spring to life just long enough to take out or engage a billion dollar air craft carriers cruising by with a torpedo launch.
“Size is also a problem in terms of unmanned enemy subs”, the source said. “Which can come in a varieties of sizes already from 3-5 ft long to 30 feet long.”
He pointed out that DARPA (the “Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency” http://www.darpa.mil/) has been “developing unmanned drone subs for years now.”
“Incorporate stealth technology in the mix and you could have a real problem on your hand even being able to identify such a threat in the first place”, he said.
Unmanned subs could also be used potentially in a variety of surveillance operations against the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf.
We also contacted the United States Navy for comment on this story and officials refused to do so, citing the fact that we were a “unapproved news source.”