Autonomous Diving Drones Market Report 2026

The autonomous diving drones market size has grown rapidly in recent years. It will grow from $1.5 billion in 2025 to $1.71 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to increasing underwater inspection requirements, growth in offshore oil and gas exploration, advancements in autonomous navigation and sonar systems, adoption in marine research and environmental monitoring, improvements in battery life and underwater propulsion.

The autonomous diving drones market size is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years. It will grow to $2.8 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.2%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to integration with AI-driven underwater mapping, expansion into subsea construction and maintenance, development of swarm diving capabilities, incorporation of advanced sensors for hazard detection, adoption in deep-sea exploration and resource monitoring. Major trends in the forecast period include expansion of long-endurance battery and power solutions, increased adoption of compact modular underwater drone designs, growth in autonomous deep-sea surveying and mapping capabilities, integration of multi-sensor payloads for high-resolution monitoring, rising use of autonomous diving drones for hazardous zone inspections.

Growing investments in offshore energy projects are creating strong opportunities for the autonomous diving drones market. Governments and corporations are increasingly funding offshore wind, oil and gas, and other marine-based renewable energy projects to meet rising global demand for clean and reliable energy. These projects require extensive underwater surveying, inspection, and data collection, and autonomous diving drones offer cost-efficient, precise, and safe solutions. By enabling more efficient project execution and reducing operational risks, these drones enhance project feasibility and attract investor confidence. For example, in July 2024, the UK government increased its AR6 budget to £1.5 billion (about $2.05 billion), allocating £1.1 billion (around $1.49 billion) for offshore wind projects, reflecting the expansion of offshore energy initiatives and the growing need for advanced underwater inspection technologies. Therefore, rising investments in offshore energy projects are driving the growth of the autonomous diving drones market.

Leading companies in the autonomous diving drones market are advancing technologies such as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to improve deep-sea exploration, inspection, and data collection. AUVs are unmanned, self-propelled submersibles capable of operating without real-time human control, making them ideal for applications such as infrastructure inspection, environmental monitoring, and marine research. For instance, in April 2025, Anduril Industries Inc., a U.S.-based defense and technology company, launched the Copperhead, a family of intelligent autonomous underwater drones designed for rapid-response missions. While certain variants target defense applications, the platform also supports commercial underwater operations, including environmental monitoring, infrastructure inspection, and search and rescue, delivering scalable deployment, high-speed performance, and networked autonomy with greater efficiency and lower cost than legacy systems.

In February 2024, Anduril Industries, a US-based defense technology company, partnered with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to prototype Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (LDUUVs). The partnership between Anduril and DIU is intended to accelerate the development and scaling of autonomous submarine-type drones designed for long-endurance undersea missions. DIU, a US-based defense organization dedicated to adopting commercial technologies for national security, selected Anduril along with two other companies to advance next-generation large undersea drone capabilities.

Major companies operating in the autonomous diving drones market are Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, L3Harris Technologies Inc., Huntington Ingalls Industries, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd., Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, General Dynamics Mission Systems, Anduril Industries, Teledyne Technologies Inc., Exail, Saab Seaeye Ltd., Advanced Navigation Pty Ltd., Sublue Technology Co. Ltd., Deep Trekker Inc., QYSEA Technology Co. Ltd., Cellula Robotics Ltd., PowerVision Robot Corporation, Notilo Plus, Hydromea SA, Seaber Robotics, Shark Marine Technologies Ltd., Aquabotix Technology Corporation.

North America was the largest region in the autonomous diving drones market in 2025. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the autonomous diving drones market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa.

Note that the outlook for this market is being affected by rapid changes in trade relations and tariffs globally. The report will be updated prior to delivery to reflect the latest status, including revised forecasts and quantified impact analysis. The report’s Recommendations and Conclusions sections will be updated to give strategies for entities dealing with the fast-moving international environment.

Tariffs on electronics, underwater sensors, propulsion units, and communication components have increased production costs and slowed deployment of autonomous diving drones, especially affecting hardware-heavy segments in Asia-Pacific and Europe where supply chains are highly integrated. These tariffs disrupt sourcing for power systems, control modules, and imaging sensors, delaying operational readiness across defense, commercial, and research applications. Nonetheless, tariffs also foster domestic manufacturing, encourage localized sourcing strategies, and stimulate innovation to reduce long-term dependence on imported underwater robotics technologies.

The autonomous diving drones market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides autonomous diving drones market statistics, including autonomous diving drones industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with an autonomous diving drones market share, detailed autonomous diving drones market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the autonomous diving drones industry. This autonomous diving drone market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.

Autonomous diving drones are underwater unmanned vehicles designed to operate independently without real-time human control. They are equipped with navigation, sensing, and propulsion systems that enable them to perform tasks such as underwater mapping, inspections, data collection, environmental monitoring, and subsea exploration.

The main components of autonomous diving drones include hardware, software, and services. Hardware comprises the physical elements such as structural design, propulsion, navigation, sensors, cameras, and power systems that enable their performance and functionality. The product range includes underwater remotely operated vehicles, hybrid drones, autonomous underwater vehicles, and swimming drones, all supported by core technologies such as navigation systems, communication systems, power systems, and sensors and cameras. These drones are utilized across commercial, defense and military, scientific research, environmental monitoring, and underwater inspection applications, serving end-user industries such as oil and gas, aquaculture, shipping and logistics, marine research, and infrastructure inspection.

The countries covered in the autonomous diving drones market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The autonomous diving drones market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing services such as underwater visual inspection, seafloor mapping, mine detection, and autonomous underwater surveying. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The autonomous diving drones market also consists of sales of products including Gavia, iBubble Evo, and Hydrus AUV. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is, the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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