- UK launches Atlantic Bastion program to protect undersea cables and pipelines against Russian threats
- The initiative combines autonomous ships, advanced sensors and naval assets, with deployments expected in 2026
- Recent incidents of sabotage of cables and power lines in the Baltic Sea highlight the urgency of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
The British government has started work on Atlantic Bastion, a new military program aimed at strengthening the security of its critical underwater infrastructure.
In a press release published on the UK.gov website earlier this week, it was stated that the objective of Atlantic Bastion was to protect these assets from Russian submarine threats.
Russian undersea and undersea activity has reportedly picked up in recent years, and the country has worked hard to modernize its fleet “to target critical undersea cables and pipelines.” Europe’s eastern neighbor has reportedly been seen mapping key locations of critical underwater infrastructure, with the UK government mentioning the Russian spy ship Yantar which was recently spotted “around UK waters”.
Next phase soon
This year alone, the UK will have invested “millions of pounds” in the development and testing of innovative anti-submarine sensor technology.
Atlantic Bastion will be a combination of autonomous surface ships and submarines, cutting-edge digital infrastructure, as well as warships and patrol aircraft. This will enable the British Navy to act against its adversaries “with unprecedented effectiveness over vast areas of ocean”.
The next phase of action, expected to begin “in the coming weeks,” involves moving projects from concept to frontline. Some capabilities are expected to be deployed in water next year, and investments will accelerate the following year.
In recent months, several underwater (fiber-optic) internet cables in the Baltic Sea region have been damaged or cut. Many observers believe that this situation is closely linked to the Russian-Ukrainian war. In November 2024, two major underwater data cables, including C‑Lion1 (which connects Finland to Germany), were discovered damaged or severed, and around the same time, a fiber optic cable between Lithuania and Sweden (via the island of Gotland) was also cut.
In late December 2024, another incident affected a power cable between Finland and Estonia, and several associated telecommunications cables were also reported to have been interrupted. A ship suspected of being linked to the Russian “ghost fleet” was seized by Finnish authorities in connection with the outage.
Via The register
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