In a significant advancement for naval warfare, Anduril has introduced the Copperhead, a torpedo-inspired underwater attack drone designed to revolutionize undersea military operations. The Copperhead promises to offer rapid and cost-effective responses to emerging maritime threats, enhancing the safeguarding of crucial assets and personnel.
The Copperhead comes in two variants: the Copperhead-100 and Copperhead-500. These models feature varying sizes, strike ranges, and payload capacities, catering to a wide array of operational requirements. This versatility is complemented by the drone’s impressive performance, as it can achieve speeds greater than 30 knots (or 55 kilometers/34 miles per hour). Moreover, the Copperhead can be equipped with various advanced sensors, including active and passive sensors, magnetometers, and side-scan sonar, enabling it to effectively identify and engage targets underwater.
According to Anduril, the introduction of the Copperhead signifies a new era of autonomous undersea dominance. The drone is highlighted as a “mass-producible” solution that offers a fraction of the cost associated with traditional legacy systems. This affordability and efficiency are crucial as naval forces seek to adapt to rapidly changing operational environments.
One of the standout features of the Copperhead is its compatibility with larger underwater vehicles. It is described as the first torpedo-like capability intended to be deployed by autonomous underwater systems. The drone can be launched from Anduril’s Dive-LD and Dive-XL platforms, affording naval forces the ability to exert control over expansive oceanic regions with a level of autonomous seapower previously unseen.
Anduril emphasized the necessity for innovative solutions, stating that current systems are often expensive, slow to deploy, and closely tied to outdated platforms, such as nuclear submarines and traditional warships. The company advocates for more autonomous and quickly-deployable subsea systems, which would integrate seamlessly with an expanding fleet of autonomous underwater, surface, and aerial vehicles.
Beyond its primary function of precision strikes, the Copperhead is poised to support a variety of crucial missions, including search and rescue operations, infrastructure inspections, and environmental monitoring tasks. The integration of the Copperhead into larger uncrewed undersea platforms, including Anduril’s Ghost Shark autonomous submarine, is also on the horizon, promising to further enhance its operational capabilities and versatility for future naval engagements.
