Underwater drones from Helsing: AI system Lura to monitor the oceans with the SG-1 Fathom glider

A few days ago, Helsing presented its concept for underwater drones: the SG-1 Fathom underwater platform, equipped with the new AI operating system Lura “to digitalise and defend the oceans”.

Lura is a software platform and at the same time an advanced AI system. It builds on the extensive experience Helsing has gained in surveillance on land and in the air. According to the company, it intends to rethink maritime surveillance from the ground up.

At its core is a powerful acoustic neural network whose functioning is said to resemble that of large language models. According to the manufacturer, Lura is thus able to “classify and localise” acoustic signatures, i.e. the sounds of ships and submarines, “with unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy”.

The Lura model is said to detect signatures up to ten times quieter than those picked up by conventional AI models. Even individual ships of the same class can thus be distinguished – up to 40 times faster than human operators are able to.

Underwater drones in swarms: the SG-1 Fathom glider

Lura is deployed on the SG-1 Fathom. The new autonomous underwater glider can patrol without interruption for up to three months, searching for underwater threats. The robust and inconspicuous system was developed specifically for continuous underwater surveillance. It is designed to move vertically through the water column and thus efficiently cover the expanses and depths of the oceans.

Helsing envisages missions in which hundreds of SG-1 Fathoms are under way. The platforms could thus detect, classify and report threats over large areas and almost in real time. The manufacturer describes it as follows: “The combined system forms a constellation of mobile sensors below the water surface – comparable to satellites in orbit – and thus digitalises the marine environment.” It adds: “Lura thereby fundamentally redefines maritime surveillance.”

A single operator is to control and monitor the glider swarm, at only ten per cent of the cost of conventional crewed anti-submarine patrols. According to the company, Lura and SG-1 are to be “deployable quickly and flexibly in all strategically relevant sea areas” – from the North Sea and the Baltic to the deep-sea areas of the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific.

Helsing co-founder and co-CEO Gundbert Scherf stresses: “We must use new technologies to keep pace with the threats to our critical infrastructure, our national waters and our way of life. Deploying AI at the edge of underwater constellations will shed light on the underwater world of the oceans and deter our adversaries – for a strong Europe.”

Amelia Gould, General Manager of Helsing Maritime, adds: “To protect ourselves against growing threats, especially under water, we must design defence differently. At Helsing, we know how important it is to learn and adapt from every deployment. Lura and SG-1 will form a constantly evolving mission cycle and learn from every deployment to keep pace with the threat – a true 21st-century defence capability.”

Demonstration in Portsmouth, deployment planned this year

Lura and SG-1 were recently demonstrated to selected users and industry partners at Portsmouth naval base. To scale up and deliver both systems quickly, Helsing is working with Blue Ocean Marine Tech Systems, Ocean Infinity and Qinetiq. The system is to be deployed this year.