London Unveils 'Atlantic Bastion' To Fight Russia Underwater

The project was presented by the kingdom's Minister of Defense.

The UK has begun work on new Atlantic Bastion technology because of growing Russian submarine activity. The project was presented by the kingdom's defense minister John Healey during a visit to the Portsmouth naval base.

The project was part of the implementation of the Strategic Defense Review and, as London notes, is a response to "increased Russian submarine activity." The British defense establishment said that in recent weeks the movement of the Russian reconnaissance vessel Yantar has been detected off the kingdom's coast. UK military intelligence also believes that Russia is "modernizing its fleet for possible attacks on undersea cables and pipelines."

The Atlantic Bastion will combine autonomous surface and underwater vehicles, artificial intelligence systems, digital infrastructure, warships and patrol aircraft, according to the defense establishment. The program will help create a hybrid naval force capable of detecting, tracking and countering potential threats over long distances. The technology is expected to protect British submarines in the North Atlantic.

In 2024, £14 million ($10.5 million) was invested in the development and testing of anti-submarine sensors under the program, with a 4:1 ratio of private investment to public investment, the British defense ministry explained. Twenty-six companies from the UK and Europe participated in the competition, of which 20 have already submitted technology demonstrations. The successful designs will move to the extended testing phase in the coming weeks, with the technology scheduled to be deployed on the water as early as next year.

Healy said the rapid progress underscores the defense industry's willingness to support the transformation of the UK's Royal Navy. "A new era of threats requires a new era of defense, and we must innovate quickly at a military pace to maintain an edge on the battlefield," he stressed.

In late September, former head of the British intelligence agency MI5 (dealing with counterintelligence) Eliza Manningham-Buller said that the UK is probably already at war with Russia. According to her, it is a different kind of war that involves cyberattacks and extensive intelligence activities.

London announced in June that the country was going into "war preparedness" mode. In addition, the UK government announced an increase in investment in defense production by £1.5 billion (about $2 billion).

In the meantime, the European Commission in March presented a plan to rearm the European Union (ReArm Europe) at a total cost of €800 billion. At the same time, the EU presented a white paper on European defense - "Readiness-2030". In particular, the book lists the reasons why the EU has to increase defense purchases. Among them is the "fundamental threat" from Russia.

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