EU Launches Project to Cut Noise from Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

The European Defence Agency (EDA) has launched a four-year programme to reduce noise from autonomous underwater vehicles, targeting improved naval stealth and lower acoustic impact on marine ecosystems.

The €4.8 million Submarine Hull/Rudder/Propeller Hydrodynamics Interaction and Hydroacoustics (SPHYDA) project brings together Italy as lead nation with Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Norway, supported by nine industrial and research partners.

SPHYDA will run until late 2029. The consortium is developing numerical models and experimental tools to predict how hull designs, rudders and propellers generate noise. The project aims to deliver higher-fidelity simulations, improved measurement techniques and design guidelines to support quieter, more efficient underwater platforms while meeting EU environmental rules.

It builds on earlier EDA and EU-funded research into propeller noise and hydrodynamic performance, expanding the focus to whole-vehicle acoustics. The effort aligns with European underwater warfare priorities and complements NATO research on sonar and autonomous systems.

The team will design and construct an autonomous underwater vehicle for towing-tank and manoeuvring-basin experiments, followed by outdoor tests to assess far-field noise under operational conditions. Lower radiated noise remains a priority for navies seeking to reduce sonar detection ranges.

“SPHYDA is a crucial step toward developing the capability to diagnose and predict the complex hydrodynamic mechanisms responsible for the generation and propagation of noise from underwater vehicles in real operating conditions,” said Riccardo Broglia, Research Director at the Institute of Marine Engineering of the Italian National Research Council, the project manager.

Consortium partners:
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – Istituto di Ingegneria del Mare; Maritime Research Institute Netherlands; Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research; Norwegian Defence Research Establishment; Bundeswehr Technical Center for Ships and Naval Weapons; Technische Universität Hamburg; thyssenkrupp Marine Systems; NAVANTIA; CEHIPAR – El Canal de Experiencias Hidrodinámicas de El Pardo.