In a bid to eliminate threats in the sea, China is reportedly working on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can hide under the water and attack enemy vessels without any human guidance.

According to some research papers at Harbin Engineering University declassified last week, China had developed unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) over a decade ago and also successfully tested them by using AI robots to find a dummy submarine and attack it with a torpedo.

The experiment was conducted in 2010 in the Taiwan strait, a contested body of water that Beijing claims as its own. It saw the deployment of the UUV on a fixed course some 30 feet below the surface.

Reportedly, the AI robot was able to identify the location of the submarine, change course, circle the target, and then fire at the dummy with an unarmed torpedo. 

The UUV used sonar and onboard sensors to fetch data, which were analysed by the computer, to help it make complete the task.

Professor Liang Guolong, who led the team of scientists during the research in 2010, wrote, “The needs of future underwater warfare bring new development opportunities for the unmanned platforms.”

He added that the UUVs could be programmed to operate in a group and make simultaneous attacks on one target.

It should be noted that UUVs are already used by commercial shipping companies and some navies but they have never been used in warfare.