The U.S. military is developing a new generation of underwater nuclear-powered charging stations designed to keep autonomous submarines, sensors and other military systems operating on the ocean floor for years without surfacing for maintenance or refueling.

The initiative, known as DEPTHS, is backed by millions of dollars in initial funding and is intended to solve one of the most persistent problems in undersea warfare: keeping unmanned systems powered during long-duration missions far beneath the surface.

According to a report by Autoweek, the Pentagon is exploring the use of compact nuclear batteries that could be stationed on the seabed and operate continuously for decades.

The technology would rely on strontium-90, a radioactive material produced as nuclear waste and stored in U.S. government facilities.

As the material decays, it continuously produces heat. New power-conversion technology would use that heat to generate electricity far more efficiently than earlier systems, allowing the military to build smaller and more powerful energy sources.

Current autonomous underwater vehicles and sensors are limited by battery life. Once their batteries are depleted, the military must either recover the systems or deploy ships and crews to replace or recharge their power sources — an expensive and logistically complicated process.

The Pentagon’s goal is to create underwater docking stations where unmanned submarines and robotic systems could autonomously arrive, connect, recharge and return to their missions without ever surfacing.

The effort comes as the United States increasingly focuses on competition with China in the Pacific, where both countries are investing heavily in undersea surveillance, autonomous systems and other technologies designed to monitor activity across vast maritime areas.

China has reportedly been working to expand sophisticated surveillance infrastructure along portions of the Pacific seabed, increasing the strategic importance of long-endurance American underwater systems.

Zeno Power, the company developing the nuclear power technology, has leased a secure nuclear facility in California where it plans to begin assembling the systems.

The company aims to demonstrate a working model and begin delivering the first underwater charging stations to the U.S. military by 2027.

Radioactive power systems are not new, but traditional designs have generally been large and heavy while producing relatively modest amounts of electricity.

Recent advances in power conversion and engine efficiency could make it possible to create far more compact systems capable of generating substantially greater power.

Unlike solar, wind or conventional fuel-based systems, nuclear batteries do not require sunlight, fuel deliveries or surface infrastructure, making them particularly suited for the extreme conditions found on the deep ocean floor.

If successful, the DEPTHS program could dramatically extend the endurance of America’s unmanned underwater fleet, allowing submarines, robots and sensors to remain hidden and operational for years at a time.

The technology could become increasingly significant as military competition between Washington and Beijing expands from the surface of the Pacific Ocean to the seabed below.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)