LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The UK government has unveiled a new undersea warfare technology to counter threat from Russia.
The groundbreaking Atlantic Bastion program will make Britain more secure from Russian undersea threats in the North Atlantic through a transformation of the Royal Navy and its submarine-hunting capabilities.
Atlantic Bastion will combine autonomous vessels and AI with warships and aircraft to create a highly advanced hybrid force to protect undersea cables and pipelines.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey visited HM Naval Base Portsmouth to unveil early work on the program, with millions of pounds invested this year in development and testing of innovative anti-submarine sensor technology.
Atlantic Bastion places the UK at the forefront of a technological revolution in naval warfare, combining the latest autonomous surface and underwater vessels and cutting-edge digital infrastructure with world-class warships and patrol aircraft.
The world-leading program is in direct response to a resurgence in Russian submarine and underwater activity, including the recent activities of Russian spy ship Yantar around UK waters. UK Defence Intelligence has identified that Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently modernising his fleet to target critical undersea cables and pipelines.
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.
The UK Ministry of Defence said that there has been huge appetite from industry, with combined MOD/industry seedcorn investment of 14 million pounds already committed this year to testing and development. 26 firms from the UK and Europe have submitted proposals to develop anti-submarine sensor technology, and 20 companies from big primes to tech SMEs are already showcasing technology demonstrators.
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