Where Was the Underwater Drone Found in Lombok Controlled From? Here's BRIN's Analysis

An expert on drones from BRIN’s Centre for Geological Disaster Research, Firman Prawiradisastra, has responded to the discovery of an object resembling an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), suspected to belong to China. A fisherman found it while searching for fish in the waters of the Northern Trawangan Strait, approximately 10 miles from Gili Trawangan, North Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara Province (NTB). Firman explained that an underwater drone resembles a mini-submarine but is uncrewed and remotely controlled. UUVs are usually equipped with various sensors. “Its applications can include monitoring underwater infrastructure, deep-sea mapping, marine biology research, or underwater rescue missions,” Firman told Republika on Wednesday (8/4/2026). Firman explained that underwater drones are controlled from short distances. Thus, it is unlikely that the drone was directly controlled from its country of origin. “As far as I know, the control range of underwater drones is around 100-300 metres from the operator if using a cable. If wireless, some can reach up to 1 kilometre,” Firman said. However, Firman is unaware of any latest-generation drones that can be controlled from thousands of kilometres away. This indicates that the drone could have been controlled within Indonesian territory. “If controlled from hundreds or thousands of kilometres, I don’t know if any can reach that far yet,” Firman said.