Underwater Drone Market Size, Share, Trends and Forecast by Type, Product Type, Propulsion System, Application, and Region, 2025-2033

The global underwater drone market size was valued at USD 4.40 Billion in 2024. Looking forward, IMARC Group estimates the market to reach USD 9.34 Billion by 2033, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.29% from 2025-2033. North America currently dominates the market, holding a market share of over 32.3% in 2024. The underwater drone market share is expanding, driven by the rising applications in marine research, defense, and commercial sectors, rapid technological advancements, and the increasing demand for underwater exploration, surveillance, and environmental monitoring.

An underwater drone refers to an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), that is capable of carrying out oceanographic activities underwater without a human occupant or operator. These vehicles are either controlled throughout their operations by a distant human operator or are operated autonomously without any real-time human inputs. They are typically equipped with high-resolution cameras, superior manipulators, sophisticated propulsion systems, and highly sensitive SONAR, making them an ideal option for ocean exploration and bathymetric measurements. Additionally, they significantly reduce the timelines required to inspect equipment and other submerged items in the sea. This results in the extensive usage of these drones for underwater surveys, which include detecting obstructions, wrecks and rocks submerged in the sea, mapping the sea floor, analyzing wave currents and visual dead zones, and predicting waterborne accidents, such as tsunamis.

Underwater Drone Market Trends:

The market is majorly driven by the augmenting adoption of UUVs in deep-water offshore oil and gas exploration activities. This can be attributed to the augmenting demand for energy across the globe. In line with this, a considerable rise in defense expenses to modernize military forces is resulting in a higher product uptake for defense and security applications. Moreover, the expanding applications of automated unmanned vehicles (AUVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) in search, recognition, and localization applications are providing an impetus to the market growth. Besides this, the rapid utilization of underwater drones in oceanographic research activities is creating lucrative growth opportunities. The market is further driven by continual product innovations, such as the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and the advent of energy-efficient underwater drones. Some of the other factors creating a positive outlook for the market include rapid digitization, commercial aquaculture ventures for underwater farms, inflating disposable income levels, and extensive research and development (R&D) activities conducted by key players.

Key Market Segmentation:

IMARC Group provides an analysis of the key trends in each segment of the global underwater drone market, along with forecast at the global, regional, and country levels from 2025-2033. The market has been categorized based on type, product type, propulsion system, and application.

Breakup by Type:

• Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)
• Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV)
• Hybrid Vehicles

Breakup by Product Type:

• Micro
• Small and Medium
• Light Work-Class
• Heavy Work-Class

Breakup by Propulsion System:

• Electric System
• Mechanical System
• Hybrid System

Breakup by Application:

• Defence and Security
• Scientific Research
• Commercial Exploration
• Others

Breakup by Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Asia-Pacific
• China
• Japan
• India
• South Korea
• Australia
• Indonesia
• Others
• Europe
• Germany
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Spain
• Russia
• Others
• Latin America
• Brazil
• Mexico
• Others
• Middle East and Africa

Competitive Landscape:

The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH (thyssenkrupp AG), Blueye Robotics, Deep Ocean Engineering Inc., Deep Trekker Inc. (Halma plc), General Dynamics Corporation, iBubble, Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Oceaneering International Inc., Saab Seaeye Limited (Saab AB), Teledyne Marine (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated) and The Boeing Company.

Key Questions Answered in This Report

1.How big is the underwater drone market?

2.What is the future outlook of underwater drone market?

3.What are the key factors driving the underwater drone market?

4.Which region accounts for the largest underwater drone market share?

5.Which are the leading companies in the global underwater drone market?