UK expands program to protect undersea infrastructure from Russian threats
UK Defense Secretary John Healey (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The United Kingdom is stepping up work on the Atlantic Bastion programme to strengthen undersea defenses amid increased Russian activity, Sky News reports.
Senior officers of the Royal Marines released updated information about the program in response to recent Russian actions, including the appearance of the spy ship Yantar in British waters.
Atlantic Bastion, created within the Strategic Defense Review, is intended to combine autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, naval vessels, and drones to monitor and protect undersea infrastructure.
The UK Ministry of Defense emphasized that the project is a response to the increasing activity of Russian submarines and submersible devices, including the recent incident involving the Yantar vessel.
This year, the program received around 14 million pounds (about 18.3 million dollars) in investment from the Ministry of Defense and industrial partners, and its first technologies are planned to be launched next year.
A total of 26 companies from the United Kingdom and Europe participated in the project. Defense Secretary John Healey visited the naval base in Portsmouth to familiarize himself with developments that may be used within Atlantic Bastion. Among them are the remotely operated uncrewed boat Rattler, the experimental underwater drone Excalibur, and the SG-1 Fathom underwater glider.
UK expands undersea defense vs Russian threats (photo: Sky News)
UK expands undersea defense vs Russian threats (photo: Sky News)
UK expands undersea defense vs Russian threats (photo: Sky News)
UK Defense Secretary John Healey stressed that threats to undersea infrastructure are a fundamental concern for Western countries. According to a Ministry of Defense spokesperson, the program integrates ships, submarines, aircraft, and drones into a single digital detection system based on acoustic technologies and artificial intelligence.
Background
In October last year, a Russian ship carrying dangerous cargo entered the English Channel, which was then called a floating bomb.
At the beginning of the year, the UK once again detected Russian activity in the strait, including a Russian intelligence vessel.
In November, Healey stated that another Russian ship, likely gathering data on undersea infrastructure, was present off the coast of Scotland, and it was being monitored.
