Undersea drones still need control and launch platforms

What about uncrewed undersea systems for commerce interdiction and shore defence?

The reply treats control links and delivery range as continuing constraints, with greater opportunity in narrow seas and chokepoints than across the open Atlantic or Pacific.

Wire-guided torpedoes provide an existing comparison for underwater control, and the reply emphasizes the length of the connection to the launch platform. It also points to anti-torpedo systems and the advantage of disabling a launcher or command platform before its weapons arrive. The Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea concentrate shipping within defined waters, where limited-range systems have more opportunities to intercept it. Oceanic commerce interdiction presents a much larger search and reach problem. Shore-based systems with ranges of tens of kilometres cannot threaten a force operating hundreds of kilometres offshore, so longer reach may require a submarine or other launch vessel.