Submersible drones possibly launched by surface ships – Navy spox (2025)

MANILA – The submersible drones that have been found in the country's waters from 2022 to 2024 could have been dropped by surface ships, a ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official said Tuesday.

Philippine Navy (PN) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad made this comment when asked how these platforms could have been delivered in the country's waters.

"Drones like these could either be launched by air, by a mothership (surface ship) or by a submarine. Now, depending on the configuration, we could rule out that this was launched by a submarine in as much as the wings (fins) are fixed. This could have been airdropped, but most more likely this would have been dropped by a mothership (surface ship)," he said.

And due to its small size, Trinidad said these submersible drones are very hard to detect even by more modern armed forces.

"Any modern armed force in the world will have a big capability gap in searching for this type of equipment, this type of drones. In as much as they are small, they are not designed to travel on the surface," he said.

But despite this, Trinidad assured the public that the PN will continue with its mandate of protecting the country's vast waters.

He added they will be keeping a more sharp lookout for this kind of intrusions.

The PN official also appealed to all Filipino fishermen or mariners to immediately report sightings of such drones to authorities.

Trinidad earlier said three of the five submersible drones recovered in Philippine waters from 2022 to 2024 could have been possibly deployed by China.

He added there is a "55 to 80 percent likelihood" that these undersea platforms were deployed by China.

"There is a 55 to 80 percent likelihood that these were deployed by the Chinese Communist Party. Why 55 to 80 percent is because of the components inside. Not all of them have markings that were made in China. Others are available commercially off the shelf. They have the capability to receive, to process, to store, and to transmit data through satellite communications to a station on land, to a mothership, or to other drones," he added.

While this is not categorical, Trinidad said there is a large chance of this possibility.

He said the first submersible drone was recovered in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte in July 2022; the second off the Zambales coast in September 2022; the third in Calayan Island, Cagayan last August 2024; the fourth in Initao, Misamis Oriental in October 2024; and the fifth in San Pascual, Masbate last December.

Trinidad described the third drone as the most intact one.

He said all five drones were subjected to a "Level 1" forensics examinations which focus on physical description, weight dimensions, colors and markings.

Examination on the first and third drones revealed that they are fitted with conductivity, temperature, depth (CTD) sensors, he added.

"Some of the components were available off the shelf. Some of the components had markings from China. Others had defaced markings to probably prevent reverse engineering or to hide the identity of the source," Trinidad said.

Aside from this, the first and third drones also have integrated chips that were sanitized or were defaced.

"There was an iridium transceiver with serial number HWA Create. HWA Create is a company that focuses on defense, civil, government and industrial solutions, the headquarters of which is in Beijing. There was a China Telecom SIM card. The information gathered focuses on bathymetric data. It also collects information on sound propagation underwater," Trinidad said.

Meanwhile, the fourth drone also has CTD sensors and has its battery pack marked with "China Electronics Technology Corps".

Trinidad said no data can be obtained from the second drone as this was recovered in a seriously damaged condition while the fifth drone is still being analyzed.

Data recovered from the intact drones, which the PN official did not identify, revealed that the data focused more on bathymetric data, depth of water, salinity, temperature, and propagation of sound.

"All of these have applications across different fields, academic research, commercial purposes, and also military use," he added.