The UK will use AI to “track and deter” Russian submarines as part of a new multi-million-pound hi-tech force to protect Britain’s undersea cables and pipelines.
The hybrid naval force, named Atlantic Bastion, will combine autonomous vehicles and AI with warships and aircraft to identify threats to underwater structures and to defend them from interference.
Announcing the plans, the defence secretary John Healey said it would be a “highly advanced hybrid fighting force to detect, deter and defeat those who threaten us”.
The move comes after cables in the Baltic Sea were reported to have been damaged recently and UK defence intelligence has identified that Russia is modernising its fleet to target undersea cables and pipelines.
Last month, the defence secretary was forced to issue a stark warning to Vladimir Putin after a Russian spy ship operating on the edge of UK waters directed lasers at RAF pilots.
Meanwhile, the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, this week warned that Putin represents “an active threat to Britain’s citizens, our security and our prosperity” after a major inquiry into the Salisbury novichok poisonings concluded that the Russian president ordered the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal as a “public demonstration of Russian power”.
Subsea infrastructure is the lifeblood of the UK’s connectivity, carrying 99 per cent of international telecommunications data and vital energy supplies such as electricity, oil and gas.
Speaking during a visit to Portsmouth Naval Base, Mr Healey said: “We know what Putin is doing. We know what Putin is developing.
“And we’ve seen in recent weeks, for example, their spy ship, Yantar, in and out of UK waters, and we’re able to find them, whether they are on the surface or underwater.
“We’re able to find them, track them, and, if necessary, we are ready with allies to act to deter them.”
The announcement comes as Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to visit London for talks on peace proposals, with cabinet minister Pat McFadden on Sunday warning that Ukraine faces a “pivotal” moment in the war with Russia.
The Ukrainian president will meet Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street on Monday, along with French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz, amid continued talks between Ukrainian and US officials on a Washington-backed plan to end the war.
Mr McFadden said Ukraine’s security and self-determination would be “at the heart” of the leaders’ discussions, telling Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “This is a really pivotal moment now. Everybody wants the war to come to an end, but they want it to come to an end in a way that gives Ukraine that freedom of choice in the future.
“So, that means not just an end to the war but also security guarantees for Ukraine in the future, and not a completely toothless organisation, which is unable to decide its future.”
The UK has consistently pushed for any peace deal to include security guarantees for Ukraine, both from the US and in the form of the British and French-led “coalition of the willing”.
Atlantic Bastion will involve the development and testing of state-of-the-art anti-submarine sensor technology.
A MoD spokesperson said: “Atlantic Bastion will create an advanced hybrid naval force to defend the UK and Nato allies against evolving threats.
“It will enable the UK to find, track and, if required, act against adversaries with unprecedented effectiveness across vast areas of ocean.”
Mr Healey added: “People should be in no doubt of the new threats facing the UK and our allies under the sea, where adversaries are targeting infrastructure that is so critical to our way of life.
“This new era of threat demands a new era for defence, and we must rapidly innovate at a wartime pace to maintain the battlefield edge as we deliver on the strategic defence review (SDR).
“Our pioneering Atlantic Bastion programme is a blueprint for the future of the Royal Navy.
“It combines the latest autonomous and AI technologies with world-class warships and aircraft to create a highly advanced hybrid fighting force to detect, deter and defeat those who threaten us.”
Speaking at the International Sea Power Conference on Monday, First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins is expected to say: “We are a navy that thrives when it is allowed to adapt. To evolve. We have never stood still – because the threats never do.
“The [Strategic Defence Review] identified the maritime domain as increasingly vulnerable – and that maritime security is a strategic imperative for the UK. It is time to act.
“This begins with Atlantic Bastion – our bold new approach to secure the underwater battle-space against a modernising Russia. Our commitment to alliance. And it is happening now.
“A revolutionary underwater network is taking shape – from the mid-Atlantic ridge to the Norwegian Sea. More autonomous, more resilient, more lethal – and British built.
“We’ve already made rapid and significant progress with delivering Atlantic Bastion. A force that keeps us secure at home and strong abroad.”
The project has been launched with £14m of MoD and industry early investment of £14m for testing and development, with 26 firms from the UK and Europe having submitted proposals.
It comes after the government earlier this week announced that the UK and Norway are poised to sign a landmark defence pact, establishing a combined naval fleet specifically designed to track Russian submarines across the North Atlantic.
The MoD spokesperson said: “Atlantic Bastion will see ships, submarines, aircraft and unmanned vessels connected through AI-powered acoustic detection technology and integrated into a digital targeting web – a pioneering network of weapons systems that allow battlefield decisions for targeting enemy threats to be made and executed faster.”
