Video: Turkish company showcases remotely-controlled naval mine drone

A Turkish defense company has shared video footage of what it says is an unmanned underwater vehicle capable of carrying enough explosives to destroy surface warships.

The underwater drone is called Wattozz and was developed jointly by Albayrak Savunma, which entered the defense business in 2017, and Karadeniz Technical University.

The UUV is identical to a stingray, according to the company and is controlled by cryptographic acoustic sound waves similar to those produced by animals such as whales and dolphins.

Just like stingrays, the Wattozz can stay motionless on the sea floor and be used for spying/observation. The vehicle’s movement through the water is similar to that of stingrays while its signal absorbing paint makes it invisible to the radars, according to the company.

The company did not provide specifications on the UUVs weight and size or its payload capacity, but a video illustration shows a “fever” of stingray drones attaching to an aircraft carrier and causing a crippling explosion.

The company did not say when the UUV could become operational.