Britain plans to pay HII Unmanned Systems £303m for mine-hunting underwater robots its tender priced at £125m, a week after claiming the lead on three AUKUS payloads. Australia armed Ghost Shark, France signed a combat robot submarine it has not funded, and Ukraine's ground robots passed 30,000 missions in a month.
Britain claims AUKUS payloads but buys its mine-hunting robots from HII, at 2.42 times its estimate.
Britain will pay HII Unmanned Systems £303m for mine-hunting underwater robots that its own tender notice priced at £125m.
Britain chose the uncrewed-systems arm of Huntington Ingalls Industries, the US naval shipbuilder, on 3 November to supply its next mine-hunting underwater drones. The deal is worth £303m, against the £125m its own tender had estimated.
The British share sits with the sub-contractors. Thales UK, SeeByte of Edinburgh and three smaller firms supply sonar, software and parts, while the vehicles themselves come from Massachusetts.
Ukrainian ground robots ran 31,398 supply and evacuation missions in October, Kyiv says, more than four times January's tally.
Ukraine's ground robots ran 31,398 supply and casualty missions in October, the Ministry of Defence said on 6 November. That single month beat the whole first quarter of 2026 combined.
Soldiers earn points for each checked mission and spend them on more kit through the Brave1 Market. That online store has just added three robots that can cross water.
Ghost Shark can now carry up to twelve sea mines, launch Altius attack drones and drop supply caches, Australia disclosed.
United StatesAustralia's Department of Defence revealed on 19 October what its Ghost Shark robot submarine will carry. The list covers up to 12 sea mines, Anduril's Altius flying drones and supply caches for special forces.
Minister Pat Conroy wants allies to buy these add-ons under AUKUS (the Australia-UK-US pact). Each Altius carries about 4kg of explosive, so one submarine can now strike ships from the air.
Britain claimed the lead on a seabed-imaging sonar, a submarine-hunting sensor and a jamming payload for AUKUS underwater robots, shared from 2027.
Britain will lead three sensor and effector payloads for AUKUS (the Australia-UK-US pact) underwater drones, the Ministry of Defence said on 27 October. All three fleets get them from 2027.
Off San Diego, Britain ran the submarine-hunting part of Maritime Big Play with 13 drone boats. Two small firms from Frome and Basingstoke showed software that lets robot fleets plan and share work.
France's DGA signed Naval Group for an air-transportable combat underwater drone, with sea trials from 2028 on money not yet found.
NetherlandsFrance's arms agency signed with Naval Group on 3 November to build a combat robot submarine more than 10m long. It must fit inside an A400M transport plane, and sea trials start in 2028.
Most of the money to build it is not yet secured, Naval News understands. That final budget is due in 2027, after France elects a new president.
South Korea's arms-approval board cleared a 591bn won mine-warfare surface-drone programme at the meeting that approved its nuclear submarine.
South Korea's arms-approval committee cleared plans on 6 November for a 591bn won programme of mine-hunting drone boats, the Seoul Economic Daily reported. That is roughly £325m for the Korean navy.
The same meeting approved Jangbogo-N, Korea's nuclear-powered submarine. It also cleared a 611bn won harbour patrol boat and a 536bn won tactical missile upgrade.
Denmark skipped competition to buy twelve armed six-wheeled ground robots from Aarhus firm Dropla Tech, citing the war in Ukraine.
Denmark is buying 12 armed six-wheeled ground robots from Dropla Tech, a small firm in Aarhus, for 22.4m kroner. The award notice appeared on 26 October.
The defence ministry skipped open competition, citing the war in Ukraine and an urgent need to train soldiers with such robots. Dropla sent the only bid, so no rival price exists to set against its 1.9m kroner a robot.
Elbit Systems bought International Submarine Engineering, a Vancouver underwater-robot builder with more than 250 vehicles delivered since 1974.
United StatesIsrael's Elbit Systems bought International Submarine Engineering of Vancouver on 20 October. The Canadian firm has built robot submarines since 1974 and has delivered more than 250 to over 20 countries.
Elbit called the price too small to matter to its accounts. It already sells flying and surface drones, and the deal adds the underwater piece it lacked.
Naval Group's Seaquest M is a 37m steel-hulled surface drone built to run ten days without a crew; weapons come later.
NetherlandsNaval Group showed Seaquest M on 2 November, a 37m steel drone ship meant to sail for 10 days with no human input. It carries a containerised combat system that can take the Rampart missile launcher.
The French Navy wants range, secure radio links and a tough hull first, with weapons added later. Naval Group plans first sea trials within a couple of months.
France's Defence Innovation Agency and Navy cut seven armed surface-drone teams to three for DANAE, with a final choice due at the end of 2027.
Netherlands×2France's Defence Innovation Agency and the French Navy cut seven bidders to three in October for a fast-track armed drone-boat programme. These boats would guard ports and escort warships.
Naval Group made the final three with its Seaquest S design. Each team now gets 12 months to improve its boat, so the Navy will not pick a winner until late 2027.
HD Hyundai sailed a former US Navy test ship off Long Beach for three and a half hours with nobody aboard, Anduril software running the mission.
HD Hyundai sailed a former US Navy test ship off Long Beach, California, for three and a half hours with nobody steering. The Korean shipbuilder announced the trial on 19 October.
Its own software sailed the 368-ton vessel while Anduril's Lattice ran the mission. Observers watched it handle a staged engine failure, and a second prototype is due to launch at Ulsan in November.
Kongsberg's prototype deal with the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit grew by $54m, mostly for underwater-robot deliveries.
NetherlandsNorway's Kongsberg won a $54m extension to its prototype deal with the US Defense Innovation Unit, the Pentagon's fast-buying office, Naval News reported on 30 October. Most of it pays for robot submarines.
Kongsberg Discovery, its subsea business, says it has signed 1.7bn Norwegian kroner of such orders across all markets in 2026. A Norwegian firm is now a regular supplier to the US Navy.
Naval News spotted a second suspected mothership for giant uncrewed submarines on Guangzhou's Pearl River, from unverified Weibo videos.
NetherlandsNaval News reported on 18 October that a second Chinese ship built to carry very large robot submarines may be under construction in Guangzhou. The evidence comes from two Weibo videos that nobody has yet confirmed.
At about 150m with six stern masts, it is smaller than the Shanghai hull spotted in September. Two yards building two sizes would point to a planned fleet.
Japan's defence ministry will start research in fiscal 2027 on mass-producing attack underwater drones at home, Nikkei reported.
JapanJapan's Ministry of Defense will start research in fiscal 2027 towards building attack and detection robot submarines at home in large numbers, Nikkei reported on 29 October. Japanese firms are to be chosen that same year.
Working prototypes are not due until fiscal 2035. The plan sits in the 2027 budget request without a price tag, so its funding is still unknown.
Finland's emergency supply agency put an €11m order for radiation-sensing ground robots, four-legged robots and aerial drones out to open tender for the EU.
Finland's National Emergency Supply Agency opened bidding on 4 November for an €11m buy of remote-controlled robots that measure radiation. The kit goes into rescEU, the EU's shared emergency stockpile.
Up to eight of the ground robots will walk on four legs rather than roll. The agency plans to pick suppliers in March 2027, with bids due in mid-January.
EDGE Group took control of Italian engine maker CMD and signed exploratory memorandums on uncrewed boat development with Novamarine.
The United Arab Emirates' state defence group took control of an Italian marine engine maker in October. In early November it signed two exploratory deals on drone boats, Naval Today reported on 5 November.
Novamarine of Olbia would supply hulls, Emirati software would steer them and Abu Dhabi Ship Building would put them together. Neither memorandum names a customer, a price or a contract.
Up, slowly. The next tipping point is the Block 2 standstill ending on 12 November: if TKMS Atlas UK, Teledyne Gavia or Exail challenges, signature slips past 16 November and the 2032 Hunt-class exit tightens. Beyond that, South Korea's DAPA moves from basic strategy to contract, and France's 2027 allocation decides whether the combat UUV demonstrator reaches sea trials in 2028.
