Britain Invests $120 Million to Hunt Russian Submarines and Protect Undersea Cables

The UK will invest about $120.4 million in new drones, sensors, and AI systems to protect undersea cables and track Russian submarines in the North Atlantic, the British Ministry of Defence announced on November 10.

The investment will fund the first phase of the Royal Navy’s Atlantic Bastion program, including a new surveillance system known as Atlantic Net.

The Atlantic Net investment follows a series of Russian submarine surveillance operations around British waters. In April, the UK exposed an operation involving an Akula-class submarine and two specialized GUGI submarines that officials stated were designed to survey undersea infrastructure in peacetime and could be used for sabotage during a conflict.

According to the Ministry of Defence, Atlantic Net will combine autonomous underwater systems, advanced sensors, communications, remote operations, and data services under Royal Navy control.

The system is designed to detect Russian submarines and other hostile activity, while providing earlier warning to submarine-hunting warships and Astute-class submarines.

“The threats beneath the North Atlantic are changing, and we are changing with them,” Defence Readiness and Industry Minister Luke Pollard stated. “This investment gives the Royal Navy new technology to find threats earlier and protect our critical infrastructure.”

The framework with UK-based Ocean Infinity Solutions is expected to support almost 200 skilled jobs. The company will work with the Royal Navy to integrate maritime systems, underwater sensing, communications, and remote operations into a single capability.

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Atlantic Net will form part of the wider Atlantic Bastion program, which aims to combine crewed and uncrewed vessels to track submarines and protect communications cables, energy networks, and other critical infrastructure.

The UK plans to operate the system alongside NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force allies, expanding persistent surveillance against interference, sabotage, and other hostile activity beneath the North Atlantic.

Concerns over Russian activity around undersea infrastructure have intensified in recent months. In October, an investigation found that 17 Russian fishing vessels had made more than 500 suspicious movements near critical communication cables linking Britain with Europe and the US, raising concerns they could be mapping infrastructure for potential sabotage.

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