Latvian startup SUBmerge Baltic presented its PIKE underwater drone line at Drone Summit 2025 in Riga, highlighting ongoing development efforts.
The PIKE 1 remotely operated vehicle has an “8-hour work time” and a range of 80 kilometers (49 miles) with a depth of up to 300 meters (984 feet). It features one camera in front and another facing downward with a Doppler Velocity Logger (DVL) and 360-degree sonar for navigation.
Meanwhile, the PIKE autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) features almost twice the capabilities as PIKE 1: going as far as 150 kilometers (93 miles) and as deep as 500 meters (1,640 feet) with a maximum 20-kilogram (44 pounds) payload capacity.
The AUV has a “7-day work time” and uses a DVL, 360-degree sonar, inertial navigation system, and global navigation satellite system for precise, long-duration navigation, according to the company’s description.
Designed to perform tasks including border monitoring and underwater infrastructure protection in low-visibility waters common in Latvia and the Baltic region, the marine drones are equipped with high-resolution cameras and sensors that detect position, movement, and depth.
Development Efforts
The underwater drones were initially built for civilian applications on search and reconnaissance missions, and real-time aquatic ecosystem monitoring.
Eventually, they were expanded for defense applications, with the team eyeing to develop a kamikaze drone and a surface vehicle “to strike deep targets in Russian-occupied areas,” the company informed Miltarnyi.
“We are currently conducting local tests and plan joint trials with the Latvian Navy in June and July, followed by tests in Ukraine in September,” the team said, in addition to working on lowering the production costs to reduce the unit price from 100,000 euros ($112,000) to around 75,000 euros ($84,000).
The company is also planning to scale its drone production from five to up to 20 units per month, with the goal of delivering two drones to the Latvian Ministry of the Interior in 2025.
