How would autonomous torpedo drones change naval warfare?
Short answerThey would function largely as mobile mines, so navies would adapt mine-warfare and mine-countermeasure practice to meet them.
NotesAn autonomous torpedo drone behaves more like a mobile mine than an entirely new category of naval warfare. The weapon waits or searches underwater and threatens passage through a defined area. Treating it as mine warfare directs planners toward existing countermeasure skills, sensors, and clearance procedures. Autonomy may increase the danger and complexity, but it does not erase the value of institutional knowledge about underwater area denial.