By Richard Mills, Chief Commercial Officer
For many years our industry has focused on specifications.
How deep, how long, and how heavy.
Endurance has been a side conversation, partly because it hasn’t evolved as quickly as some of the other technologies. The advent of a reliable, hydrogen fuel-cell powered AUV is literally pushing the boundaries of endurance.
There are several companies delivering COTS and dual-use technology to operators across the commercial and defence sectors. We are now at a crossroads where those COTS platforms and real endurance can be included in the same conversations.
For defence and security customers, dual-use, commercial-off-the-shelf technology (COTS) is attractive because it can shorten the path from requirement to capability. It offers a way to adopt systems that have already been engineered, tested and proven in relevant environments, rather than beginning every programme with a bespoke development cycle.
But COTS on its own is not the full answer.
For underwater persistence, proven systems only become truly valuable when they can stay in the environment long enough to support the mission. That is where endurance matters.
Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) can extend situational awareness. Seabed sensor nodes can provide persistent monitoring. Acoustic networks can support low-latency detection alerts.
Scalable capability comes from combining these, and other, capabilities into a system of systems approach that is integrated, usable and repeatable. The real opportunity comes when these elements are brought together into a practical architecture.
From platform thinking to capability thinking
AUVs are often discussed as standalone platforms. That is understandable. The vehicle is visible. It has specifications. It can be compared, procured and deployed.
But subsea maritime domain awareness and critical undersea infrastructure protection are not vehicle problems.
They are persistent awareness problems.
Operators need to understand what is happening around assets that are difficult to access, difficult to monitor and increasingly important to national security and economic resilience. They need to detect activity, inspect when something changes and protect infrastructure in a way that is timely, proportionate and informed.
That requires more than periodic inspection.
It requires a wider system.
A long-endurance AUV can support inspection, survey, payload deployment and change detection across large or remote areas. A seabed sensor node can remain in-situ, passively monitoring the environment and providing alerts when something of interest occurs. An acoustic mesh network can help connect those nodes and support communication below the surface, where conventional approaches do not apply.
Together, these systems create a more cohesive and persistent picture.
That is the shift from a vehicle conversation to a capability conversation.
Why endurance changes the value of COTS
COTS systems are most useful when they can meet real operational requirements without years of additional development. But for subsea applications, the question is not simply whether a system exists. It is whether it can operate for long enough, far enough and reliably enough to be useful.
Endurance changes that equation.
Longer endurance can reduce recovery and redeployment cycles. It can extend area coverage. It can support longer inspection corridors and more flexible mission planning. It can help operators maintain awareness over time, rather than relying on disconnected snapshots.
This matters because the subsea environment does not wait for procurement timelines to catch up.
Threats evolve. Infrastructure ages. Operating areas expand. Customers need capability that can be deployed, integrated and adapted at a pace that reflects the urgency of the problem.
COTS technology provides one part of that answer. Endurance makes it more operationally meaningful.
Building architectures that can be deployed
The term COTS can sometimes be misunderstood.
It does not mean basic.
It does not mean unsophisticated.
It does not mean taking a product off the shelf and assuming it will solve every problem on its own.
In complex maritime environments, dual-use COTS equipment still requires careful integration, domain knowledge and a clear understanding of the mission. The value lies in starting with proven components, then combining them intelligently around a specific operational requirement.
For critical undersea infrastructure protection, that could mean an architecture where:
- seabed sensor nodes deployed by an AUV provide persistent in-situ monitoring
- passive acoustic systems help detect, classify and potentially identify activity or change
- acoustic communications support low-latency alerts
- long-endurance AUVs conduct periodic inspection and change detection
- standard interfaces enable system integration, supporting mission outcomes, decision making and sustainment
That kind of architecture can help customers move faster than a fully bespoke approach, while still maintaining the flexibility to adapt to different mission needs.
It is not about choosing between speed and sophistication.
It is about using proven systems to deliver practical capability sooner.
Detect. Inspect. Protect.
At Cellula, we often describe our approach as Detect. Inspect. Protect.
It is simple language, but it reflects a serious operational requirement.
Detect activity or change using persistent seabed sensing and monitoring.
Inspect areas of interest using AUVs that can operate over longer ranges and durations.
Protect critical assets by giving operators faster access to actionable information, and more options for response.
This system-of-systems approach is particularly important for subsea maritime domain awareness and critical undersea infrastructure, where no single platform can provide complete awareness on its own.
Persistent subsea operations require layers of capability. They require platforms, sensors, autonomy, edge-processing, communications, endurance, payload flexibility and support models that can work together.
That is where COTS and endurance belong in the same conversation.
A practical route to underwater persistence
The opportunity in front of the defence and maritime security community is not theoretical.
Proven technologies already exist. Long-endurance AUVs, seabed sensor nodes, acoustic networks and fuel cell power are all part of a practical pathway toward more persistent subsea awareness.
The challenge is to integrate them around real operational needs, and to do so in a way that reduces time to capability.
That is the focus Cellula will be bringing to CNE: Delivering Underwater Persistence Using COTS Products.
Because for critical undersea infrastructure protection, the question is no longer simply whether underwater persistence is desirable.
The question is how quickly we can deliver it in a way that operators can trust.
Proven systems. Faster deployment. Persistent capability.
Visit the team at booth D40 and discover more during Richard’s presentation on 20 May 14.10 to 14.35 in Theatre E.