Pleiades EDF Project – Hybrid Autonomous Unmanned Vehicles Swarm For Submarine Operations

Hybrid Autonomous Unmanned Vehicles Swarm
For Submarine SPECIAL Operations

Grant Agreement Ref. Ares (2025)10317871 – 26/11/2025 (project No. 101224047)

and the Consortium Agreement (version 2.0, 03.11.2025)

THE PLEIADES PROJECT

The comparative advantage of a submarine lies in its stealth and its ability to operate beneath the sea surface without being detected.

However, submarine operations in enemy littoral waters are particularly challenging due to the significantly increased probability of detection.

Submarine Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations, for example, in enemy coastal areas with a high concentration of enemy surface, underwater, and coastal sensors and units, drastically increase the likelihood of detection.

For diesel submarines, this probability is even higher due to snorkeling, a procedure during which the submarine is highly exposed.

The PLEIADES Project aims to address this issue proposing an innovative solution that allows submarines to deploy underwater a swarm of Hybrid Autonomous Unmanned Vehicles (HAUVs) to operate in enemy littoral waters.

The HAUV swarm will be transported to the operational area by a wire guided or/and autonomous underwater carrier, similar to a torpedo.

THE PROJECT SCOPE

1.

Design a system capable to deploy from a submarine via a Carrier Unit, an underwater/aerial swarm of HAUVs and reach Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 by the project’s conclusion.

2.

The systems basic components will be tested and validated in a relevant controlled / lab environment and evaluated in terms of working together as intended.

Individual components will be tested to ensure that they function together, in a controlled manner.

3.

Since reaching TRL4 is the final goal of the project, part of the project’s expected output is to identify challenges that might arise when moving to higher TRLs (e.g., TRL 5 and beyond), where real-world testing begins.

PLEIADES Capabilities

The project’s core innovation lies in the seamless integration of aerial and underwater operations, allowing the swarm to operate in multiple domains and adapt to various mission requirements.

This approach enhances the survivability and effectiveness of naval forces in contested environments, enabling missions such as Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance while ensuring the PLEIADES system offers both technological novelty and real-world applicability.

A4 flyer of PLEIADES project
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THE KEY OBJECTIVES TO REACH TRL4 AT THE END OF THE PROJECT

01.

Intelligent
System Behaviour

02.

Operational
Framework

03.

System
Design

04.

Swarm
Capability

05.

C4I System
Architecture

06.

Proof
of Concept

7 SMES And 1 academic organisation
from 5 member states

PLEIADES (Project No 101224047) is a European defence research project financed by the European Defence Fund (EDF), an EU initiative that supports collaborative research and development of defence technologies across Member States.

As part of this initiative, PLEIADES brings together partners from across the EU to advance autonomous underwater technologies that contribute to Europe’s defence autonomy, resilience and security.

The project gathers 7 SMEs and 1 Academic Organisation from 5 different Member States.

Disclaimer: Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s European Defence Fund programme under grant agreement No 101224047