Drone submarine Kronos: from billionaire's toy to weapon for littoral warfare

Away from the bustle of the show, the drone submarine sat inconspicuously at the IDEX defence exhibition in Abu Dhabi last year. More is now known, and at least this much seems clear: the vessel was originally developed as a new “tender submarine toy” for billionaires' yachts. With Ukraine's defensive war against Russia in mind, however, its military potential was then recognised.

What the drone submarine is designed to do

Chief designer Alexander Kuznetsov promises nothing less than a revolution in coastal naval warfare (littoral warfare) from the system called Kronos. On the one hand, it could be used like a drone against the Russian Black Sea Fleet and fire six Black Scorpion lightweight torpedoes, each with a range of three kilometres and a maximum depth of 200 metres. On the other hand, a pilot should also be able to steer it; it could then carry and deploy up to eight special forces operators.

The prototype is being built and developed by Kuznetsov's team at Highland Systems in the Emirates, with the Streit Group as cooperation partner. The company remained tight-lipped about operational readiness. The hybrid-electric drive is, however, quoted at a top speed of 80 km/h on the surface and 50 km/h underwater.