- The United Kingdom launches Atlantic Bastion Program to protect submarine cables and pipelines from Russian threats.
- The initiative combines autonomous vessels, advanced sensors and naval assets, and is expected to be implemented in 2026.
- Recent incidents of sabotage of cables and power lines in the Baltic Sea highlight the urgency amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
The UK government has begun work on Atlantic Bastion, a new military program aimed at strengthening the security of its critical underwater infrastructure.
In a press release posted on the UK.gov site earlier this week, it was said that the goal of Atlantic Bastion was to protect these assets from Russian underwater threats.
Russian submarine and submarine activity has reportedly increased in recent years, and the country has been working hard to modernize its fleet “to target critical undersea cables and pipelines.” Europe’s eastern neighbor has allegedly been seen mapping key locations of critical undersea infrastructure, with the UK government mentioning the Russian spy ship Yantar which was recently discovered “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 and underwater vessels, cutting-edge digital infrastructure, and warships and patrol aircraft. This will allow the UK navy to act against its adversaries “with unprecedented effectiveness over vast areas of the ocean”.
The next phase of action, which should begin “in the coming weeks,” is to take projects from concept to the front line. Some capabilities are expected to be deployed in water next year, with investments to accelerate the following year.
In recent months, several underwater Internet (fiber optic) cables in the Baltic Sea region have been damaged or cut. Many observers believe it is closely related to the war between Russia and Ukraine. In November 2024, two major undersea data cables, including C-Lion1 (connecting Finland and 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 severed.
In late December 2024, another incident affected a power cable between Finland and Estonia, and several associated telecommunications cables were also reportedly disrupted. Finnish authorities seized a ship believed to be linked to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” in connection with that disruption.
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