The evolution of naval warfare has been shaped by successive industrial revolutions. From steam propulsion to digitalized networks, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) now drives a paradigm shift, integrating AI, autonomous platforms, and intelligent warfare into modern naval strategies and operations.

Multiple industrial revolutions have shaped naval platforms and warfare. The 1st Industrial Revolution resulted in changes in propulsion (wind-sail power to coal fired steam engines); 2nd Industrial Revolution heralded iron built ships, and cannons came to be carried onboard; and the 3rd Industrial Revolution witnessed advent of information and communication technologies (ICT) featuring transition from platform centric to network centric warfare. The 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) is disruptive and is led by Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Quantum Communications, Additive Manufacturing, etc. It is exponential in nature and characterized by ‘informatized’ to ‘intelligentised’ warfare built around autonomous-unmanned platforms.

At the heart of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) led warfare are smart, intelligent, predictive and cognitive technologies that are shaping force structure, war fighting doctrines, concept of operations and command control. The 4IR platforms feature autonomous machines, robots, wearable including person-embedded sensors and human mounted computers. Also, Bigdata, cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Intelligence, Cognitive Computing (CC), Internet of Things (IoT), Internet of Everything (IoE) are finding reference among naval planners and practitioners. Significantly, 4IR technologies are at the front of current warfare that can be labeled as ‘neo-digital naval warfare’.

In contemporary times, at least two navies i.e. the US Navy and the PLA Navy appear to lead and therefore merit attention. Both navies have made impressive 4IR technology investments in surface autonomous platforms and systems and deployed these in the Arabian Sea and western Pacific Ocean. Similarly, potential applications of 4IR technology to support underwater operations including anti-submarine warfare (ASW), mine countermeasures (MCM), underwater domain awareness (UDA) as also in support of scientific ocean development, are part of their roles and missions.

US Navy

In 2021, the US Navy and the Marine Corps put out the strategy document titled Unmanned Campaign Framework (UCF) which emphasizes the integral nature of unmanned platforms in modern war fighting. The strategy for the use of unmanned systems aims to obtain “competitive advantage” and “provide lethal, survivable, and scalable effects supporting the future maritime mission” The five goals of the UCF are (a) manned-unmanned teaming; (b) digital infrastructure for unmanned capabilities; (c) rapid incremental development; (d) scale solutions across platforms and domains; (e) capability-centric approach for unmanned contributions. The platform strength of the US Navy (01 December 2024) is 296 manned ships and it has plans to increase it to over 300 ships by the early 2030s. 381 manned vessels and 134 unmanned surface and subsurface vehicles by 2045  are envisaged under the plan.

According to the Congressional Research Service report titled “Navy Large Unmanned Surface and Undersea Vehicles”, the US Navy plans to acquire unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) of various sizes under at least three programs for which it has proposed funding support for FY 2025 : (a) Large Unmanned Surface Vehicles (LUSVs) and $54.0 million in research and development (R&D); (b) Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicles (MUSVs) and $101.8 million in R&D as also $92.9 million in R&D funding for LUSV/MUSV enabling capabilities; and (c) Extra-large Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (XLUUVs) and $21.5 million in R&D. Further, $68.2 million in additional R&D funding for core technologies have been sought.

Some of the notable 4IR enabled platforms of the US Navy are discussed below. The Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) designated as Sea Hunter-I is developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It is a Medium Displacement Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MDUSV) and has participated in RIMPAC 2022. The Sea Hunter along with Sea Hawk (under Office of Naval Research) sailed from San Diego to Hawaii autonomously.

Orca, is an Extra-Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV), has capability of “a 30-day, 6,000 mile journey” and is designed for delivering CDMs (Clandestine-Delivered Mines). Saildrone is a new mid-size class of un-crewed surface vehicles (USVs) and is designed for multi tasks such as data solutions for “science, fisheries, weather forecasting, ocean mapping, and maritime security”. In the context of the latter Saildrone offers “near-shore ocean and lakebed mapping, and to meet the challenges of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance), law enforcement and maritime safety, drug interdiction, and border and harbor security”.

The US Navy deployed in 2024 four prototypes unmanned surface vessels i.e. Sea Hunter, Sea Hawk, Mariner and Ranger for trials. The vessels returned to their base in California after five month period and covered (combined) 46,651 nautical miles of which 50 days at sea at a time “almost exclusively” in autonomous mode. The vessels also called at ports in Japan and Australia.

In 2021, the US Navy constituted, a unique and the first-of-its-kind, “Task Force 59” (TF 59) as part of 5th Fleet under the CENTCOM. The TF59 has been very proactive and conducts multilateral maritime exercise code named IMX on biennial basis. For instance, the IMX 25 involved 5,000 personnel belonging to nearly 30 countries including international organizations “committed to preserving the rules-based international order and strengthening regional maritime security cooperation”. These exercises were held across the north Indian Ocean in sea areas of Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Red Sea.

PLA Navy

As far as China is concerned, the PLA Navy is harnessing 4IR technologies and building a highly sophisticated and capable autonomous force. The notable advancements are seen in unmanned surface vessel, drones, UAVs, and robots capable of operating autonomously. These platforms are designed for multiple tasks and missions such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), monitor naval activities, map the seabed and locate critical undersea infrastructure. These e force multipliers are enhancing China’s maritime surveillance and anti-access area denial (A2/AD) capabilities in contested waters.

There are numerous varieties of unmanned platforms currently being built by the Chinese technology companies. For instance, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU) and the China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center (CARDC) have developed drone named Feiyi (fei means “fly”, and “yi” represents a “scene of a water bird spreading its wings and preparing to take off from the surface”. It is reported that it is not only unique autonomous platform but also the first that can be launched from a submarine into the air and can return back to the submarine.

The China Aerospace and Science Technology Corporation, a Chinese defence contractor whose primary strength is in missiles and other aerospace technologies has developed D3000, a 98-foot-long stealthy robotic trimaran warship. The vessel operates in autonomous mode and can be fitted with guns, anti-ship missile, torpedoes and can carry mines. It can also act as a mother vessel for other underwater unmanned vehicles.

China’s Blue Ocean Information Network (BOIN) is designed for monitoring the marine environment by deploying “ocean buoys, fixed and re-locatable underwater sensors to include sonar and hydrophones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), and unmanned surface vehicles (USVs)”. Although the BOIN is currently meant to support activity in the East China Sea, and other adjacent ocean areas, it is envisaged to be part of the larger network in distant geographies. According to Chinese journal Electronic Science & Technology (June 2019), by 2025, the BOIN will begin “Belt and Road” (BRI) marine network construction” to “meet the urgent needs of military and civilian authorities for the acquisition of information in China’s jurisdictional maritime areas.” The marine network of the BRI i.e. China’s Maritime Silk Road is expected to be completed by 2035. The BOIN is expected to be expanded to include the Polar Regions by 2050 and evolve into the “oceanic polar information network” leading to “global ocean information industry.”

In this context it is important to mention that China has a large network of fiber optic cables and data centers. China is both a cable provider and owner of submarine cables, and HMN Technologies is a leading subsea cable builders worldwide and ranks among the top 4 companies globally. According to a Chinese think tank Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS), China seeks to control “60 percent of the global submarine cable market”. However, a series of incidents involving Chinese ships off Taiwan have underlined the “risks of espionage, sabotage, and censorship”.

It has been noted that “Chinese companies, according to their national intelligence law, are obliged to collect and report with the Chinese government sensitive information such as technology, science, military affairs, and politics of any country.” It is not surprising that China is accused of “sabotaging submarine cables” near Taiwan. Russia too has been accused of joining China in similar activities particular with regard to the Baltic Connector pipeline and two Baltic Sea cables in October 2023 and in November 2024 respectively. China is also making great strides in underwater Data Centres. It recently deployed a module with 400 high-performance servers off the coast of Lingshui in Hainan Province. The module can handle up to 7,000 DeepSeek questions  per second.

Concluding thoughts

Many advanced navies are investing enormous technological and operational capital to respond to the new era of warfare through digital tools, tactics and methodologies for warfare at sea. These are not necessarily defensive systems; instead possess offensive capabilities which can be put to use proactively to help improve on existing strategies for responding to threats and challenges at sea.