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(MENAFN - Asia Times) On December 20, 2020, an Indonesian fisherman off Selayar Island found himself in possession of a surprising catch: a 2.25-meter-long unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV).
Suspected Chinese Seawing drone recovered by a fisher and the Indonesian navy. Photograph: @Jatosint/Twitter
An Indonesian fisher has found what experts say is likely to be a Chinese submarine drone in waters on a strategic maritime route from the South China Sea to Australia.
According to Indonesian media the unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) was found on 20 December near Selayar Island in South Sulawesi. Six days later it was handed to police and then transferred to the Indonesian military.
Military observers have said the drone appears to be a Chinese Sea Wing (or Haiyi) UUV. The underwater glider was developed by the Shenyang institute of automation at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and is publicly described as collecting data including seawater temperature, salinity, turbidity and oxygen levels. Information on currents and movement direction are transmitted in real time.
said that the object looked “very similar” to China’s underwater glider, Sea Wing. The Chinese Sea Wing operated using a buoyancy compensation system filled with oil and is used for oceanographic research and has onboard sensors to measure seawater temperature, salinity, turbidity, chlorophyll, oxygen content, and ocean current changes, Naval Drones noted.
Developed by the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sea Wings were reportedly deployed in the Indian Ocean,
Forbes reported in March. The report further said that 14 such UUVs were supposed to be deployed in the Indian Ocean region but only 12 were used.
The glider was tested in 2017 and reportedly set a new world record by reaching a depth of 6,329 meters. The previous record of 6,003 meters was set by a US vessel. Quoting the developer, the Chinese media reported that the glider has a special “coat” made of light carbon fiber material to protect it from the huge pressure in the deep sea.