Why the New Frontier for Battle Drones Is Underwater

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[00:00:19] Welcome to Tech News Briefing. It's Monday, January 6th.

[00:00:22] I'm Julie Chang for The Wall Street Journal.

[00:00:25] Electronic trackers have been used to find lost luggage for years.

[00:00:29] Now, Apple's latest OS updates allow users to share AirTag locations with some airlines.

[00:00:35] We'll tell you why that could help them to find your lost bag.

[00:00:38] Plus, drones have changed how wars are fought in the sky.

[00:00:42] Why defense companies and navies are betting that the new frontier for drone warfare is underwater.

[00:00:50] But first, we hope you've never experienced the misfortune of an airline losing your luggage.

[00:00:55] But if you have, tracking devices like Apple AirTags are a way to help ease some of that anxiety.

[00:01:02] Powered by the vast, invisible network of millions of Apple devices,

[00:01:06] AirTags have not only been used to locate lost luggage,

[00:01:09] they've also helped pinpoint stolen campaign signs and even loved ones with dementia.

[00:01:14] And AirTags can now share a missing bag location with some airlines.

[00:01:19] Our personal tech columnist, Nicole Nguyen,

[00:01:21] recently wrote about the best ways to use AirTags to get your luggage back.

[00:01:25] And she joins us now.

[00:01:26] Nicole, in your column, you mentioned that it matters where you put your AirTag.

[00:01:31] Explain that a bit for us.

[00:01:32] Yeah, so AirTags run by Bluetooth rules.

[00:01:36] And that basically means it is dictated by the physics of wireless signals.

[00:01:43] Materials like glass, metal can be obstructive to wireless signals.

[00:01:48] So if there's something nearby that is interfering with the AirTags ability to communicate with other devices on the Apple Find My network,

[00:01:56] that can be iPhones, iPads or Macs, then it's less likely to give you an accurate signal.

[00:02:03] So I usually tell people to press their AirTag up against the side of their luggage,

[00:02:08] not mixed in with their clothes where the signal could be interrupted by a nice glass jar of face cream or something like that.

[00:02:16] And people need to be using other devices in order to track their AirTags.

[00:02:21] How important is it for those devices to have, say, the latest OS?

[00:02:25] It's always important to update your Apple devices to the latest software update,

[00:02:29] to any device to the latest software update for security reasons.

[00:02:32] But in this case, it will give you more features.

[00:02:36] The latest update, 18.2, rolled out the ability to share your AirTag location with third parties, such as airlines.

[00:02:44] And some airlines even have a little portal that can accept that link.

[00:02:48] United is one of them.

[00:02:49] And so, yes, in the latest iOS 18.2 update, when you go look at the location of a lost AirTag,

[00:02:56] you can generate a link, a web link that shows the location of that AirTag.

[00:03:01] So you can potentially locate your lost luggage before the airlines themselves.

[00:03:06] And that link expires within seven days.

[00:03:08] And you can see if anyone's actually looked at the link.

[00:03:11] So you can keep tabs on the airline to see if they've been looking at where your luggage actually is.

[00:03:16] You mentioned United, but what other airlines are participating in this?

[00:03:20] So some airlines that have already signed up for this AirTags integration are Delta, Air Canada,

[00:03:25] Turkish Airlines, Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, Swiss Air, Eurowings, British Airways, and Iberia, with more to come.

[00:03:34] We're talking about iPhones here, but do Androids offer a similar kind of feature?

[00:03:38] Yes.

[00:03:39] So there is a Google Find My app and a Google Find My network that works with all Android devices.

[00:03:44] So in countries, basically every country except for the United States, where Android is more popular,

[00:03:50] you'd think that that could actually be a great solution.

[00:03:53] The caveat there is that Android users have to opt in to this setting that allows them to be more discoverable on the Google Find My network.

[00:04:04] All of this to say, the Google Find My network is not as powerful as Apple's Find My network,

[00:04:09] because all Apple devices are opted into this network privately and automatically.

[00:04:16] And are there any other trackers that work with these smartphones?

[00:04:20] Tile makes a tracker, which works with a combination of Amazon Echo sidewalk network

[00:04:26] that basically takes little wireless signals from Ring doorbell cameras, Amazon Echoes within the neighborhood

[00:04:33] to increase the finding power of the Tile network.

[00:04:37] There are also third-party options with Apple's Find My network and Google's Find My network built in.

[00:04:45] So I really love this company called Pebblebee because they make a AirTag or Google Find My equivalent

[00:04:52] with a rechargeable battery.

[00:04:53] Chipolo is also a really great company that makes these third-party devices.

[00:04:58] They also have a really fun card-sized, super slim tracker.

[00:05:02] So if you leave your passport behind often or your wallet, then that can be a great solution.

[00:05:09] That was WSJ personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen.

[00:05:13] Coming up, why defense companies are building bigger, more autonomous vessels for underwater drone warfare.

[00:05:20] That's after the break.

[00:05:28] What then will the future reveal?

[00:05:31] There's one thing we know about the future.

[00:05:33] It's being built now.

[00:05:34] We all have a stake in the future.

[00:05:37] The future.

[00:05:37] The future.

[00:05:38] The future.

[00:05:39] And the Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything podcast is here to give you a glimpse of what's on the way.

[00:05:44] I'm Danny Lewis.

[00:05:45] Join us as we dig into how science and technology are shaping the future.

[00:05:49] For that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives.

[00:05:54] Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

[00:05:56] Drones have revolutionized modern warfare in the sky.

[00:06:06] Now, defense companies and navies are betting they can do the same underwater.

[00:06:11] Underwater drones aren't new.

[00:06:13] Academics and offshore energy companies have been using them for decades.

[00:06:16] But now, defense companies are developing larger, more autonomous underwater vessels that can travel longer distances and do more.

[00:06:24] WSJ reporter Alistair McDonald has been following this, and he spoke with our colleague Danny Lewis.

[00:06:30] Here's their conversation.

[00:06:33] Alistair, why are defense companies and navies now eyeing underwater drones?

[00:06:38] Yeah, well, underwater drones have been around for a long time.

[00:06:41] They've been developed a lot for commercial uses and academic uses.

[00:06:45] And even navies have used them for specific tasks, in particular mine clearance.

[00:06:49] But more recently, navies have started to think about potential common conflicts.

[00:06:54] And one of those potential common conflicts could be in the Asia Pacific, where strategists believe a large component of it would be naval.

[00:07:02] And then secondly, there's been a lot of concerns about the vulnerability of subsea infrastructure.

[00:07:09] So cables and pipelines, etc.

[00:07:12] So that's another reason to have these assets at this time.

[00:07:16] And at the same time, shipbuilders have struggled to build submarines on time and on budget.

[00:07:22] So this is a much cheaper way of doing at least one of the roles that a submarine can do.

[00:07:27] Just to go a little bit deeper into it, what kinds of activities are authorities now looking at using underwater drones for?

[00:07:35] Primarily it would be a surveillance intelligence role.

[00:07:38] For instance, analyzing ship movements and seeing ships on the surface.

[00:07:42] And analyzing which navies they're from and what they are.

[00:07:45] And also looking at harbors and mapping out seafloors, etc.

[00:07:50] Like you mentioned, companies have used underwater drones for decades now to map the seafloor.

[00:07:55] Same with scientists.

[00:07:56] We've seen underwater drones, you know, exploring wrecks like the Titanic.

[00:08:00] What's different about designing them for defense and intelligence purposes?

[00:08:05] They have to be that much more survivable to use the military term.

[00:08:09] Particularly the current crop of autonomous underwater vehicles.

[00:08:13] They're looking at them traveling for much favor than a commercial company would really need.

[00:08:18] They're looking at them going much deeper as well.

[00:08:21] So it's that.

[00:08:22] And also the sensors and the cameras on board are going to be that much more high end than those on a drone that would be used in commercial circles.

[00:08:31] What are some examples of some of the underwater drones that are coming into play for navies and who's building them?

[00:08:37] Yeah, so they've got very evocative names like Ghost Shark, which has been produced by a U.S. company called Anderal for the Australian Navy.

[00:08:46] And Manta Ray, which is Norfolk Grumman.

[00:08:49] And then you have Boeing that's set to deliver long-range autonomous vehicles for the U.S. Navy.

[00:08:55] And that one's called Orca.

[00:08:56] And then BA Systems, the British companies, got one called Hearn, which it's touting to navies probably as we speak.

[00:09:03] But literally every major military power is doing them now.

[00:09:06] The Germans have recently fielded one.

[00:09:08] The French are working on one.

[00:09:10] The South Koreans are certainly working on one.

[00:09:13] The Chinese have developed quite a few.

[00:09:15] The Russians have developed a few.

[00:09:17] So most sort of major military powers are developing these.

[00:09:21] It's sort of early doors in the long-range ones.

[00:09:24] We're talking here about extra large autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles.

[00:09:30] They're developing them, but they're not there yet.

[00:09:32] The shorter distance drones are, and they've been used for a while.

[00:09:37] But the long-range things that we're talking about now are still being developed effectively.

[00:09:42] Aside from the obvious difference between something that's traveling through the air and something that's traveling underwater,

[00:09:48] what are some of the challenges that drone makers are facing with making these new generations of underwater drones?

[00:09:55] Yeah, so the obvious big difference is that it's much easier to communicate with a drone in the air than it is in the sea.

[00:10:02] Radio waves don't really travel underwater.

[00:10:04] And traditionally submarines, for instance, have used acoustic communications.

[00:10:08] But it's quite difficult, particularly for a smaller drone.

[00:10:11] So that's the primary thing, is that communications will be much more difficult,

[00:10:15] which is one of the reasons these things are autonomous.

[00:10:18] And so the way they would communicate is they'd rise up to the surface,

[00:10:21] and they would put out their mast and communicate in that way.

[00:10:25] The other thing is that there's potential to knock into things underwater as well,

[00:10:30] like fishing lines and fishing nets and animals for that matter.

[00:10:34] And, of course, there's nobody on board an autonomous drone to actually fix it.

[00:10:38] And also, there's some very high-end aerial drones that can go to very, very high altitudes,

[00:10:45] and they have to be equipped for that and designed for that.

[00:10:48] But any underwater drone has to be able to take a lot of pressure.

[00:10:53] That was WSJ reporter Alistair MacDonald speaking with Danny Lewis.

[00:10:57] And that's it for Tech News Briefing.

[00:10:59] Today's show was produced by me, Julie Chang,

[00:11:02] with supervising producer Catherine Millsop and deputy editor Scott Salloway.

[00:11:06] We'll be back this afternoon with TNB Tech Minute.

[00:11:09] Thanks for listening.