The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced a £90m ($120m) investment in advanced drones, sensors, and AI systems to enhance the Royal Navy’s protection of undersea cables and energy infrastructure in the North Atlantic.
The funding forms the first phase of the Royal Navy’s Atlantic Bastion programme and will see the introduction of a new technology suite, called Atlantic Net, aimed at countering increasing Russian submarine activity and strengthening national security.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The investment was unveiled at the International Sea Power Conference in Oslo, Norway.
According to the MoD, Atlantic Net will deliver a network of autonomous and uncrewed systems capable of patrolling vast stretches of the North Atlantic.
Equipped with advanced sensors, the new systems are intended to provide earlier warnings of threats and improve the Royal Navy’s ability to detect and respond to nefarious activity targeting critical underwater infrastructure.
The new network will operate in coordination with the Royal Navy’s existing crewed fleet, including submarine-hunting warships and Astute-class submarines.
The ministry stated that this approach will offer “a clearer picture” of activity beneath the surface and enhance protection for the UK’s nuclear deterrent and transatlantic communications links.
UK Defence Readiness and Industry Minister Luke Pollard said: “The threats beneath the North Atlantic are changing, and we are changing with them. This investment gives the Royal Navy new technology to find threats earlier and protect our critical infrastructure, while also backing British business.”
The £90m framework agreement will be concluded with Hampshire-based Ocean Infinity Solutions, a company specialising in autonomous maritime technology.
The MoD said the collaboration will create nearly 200 skilled jobs in the region, supporting the local supply chain, in addition to the 38,700 jobs in South East England already supported by defence spending.
Atlantic Bastion, of which Atlantic Net is the first project, is the Royal Navy’s wider plan to build a hybrid force of crewed and uncrewed vessels.
According to the ministry, the strategy aims to track enemy submarines and secure the undersea cables and energy networks that underpin the UK and its allies’ economic and military resilience.
The Royal Navy and Ocean Infinity Solutions will integrate maritime systems, underwater sensing equipment, communications, remote operations, and data services into a single surveillance capability, directed by the Royal Navy.
The ministry noted that the expansion of autonomous and AI-driven technology will “increase the scale, persistence and resilience of underwater surveillance,” while supporting government ambitions to make defence a driver of economic growth.
In a related development, the Royal Navy recently conducted its first launches of the Nyan One-Way Effector (OWE) uncrewed air system from HMS Queen Elizabeth as part of Exercise Neptune Reach B in the North Atlantic.
Four Nyan drones, designed by Callen-Lenz, a subsidiary of BAE Systems, were deployed from the carrier, with each reportedly hitting its designated target.
