The UK government has unveiled the first details of Atlantic Bastion, a new undersea warfare programme designed to detect and counter Russian submarine activity across the North Atlantic. Announced during a visit to HM Naval Base Portsmouth, the initiative brings together Royal Navy vessels, RAF patrol aircraft, and a growing fleet of autonomous surface and subsurface craft, all tied into an AI-enabled acoustic surveillance network that will begin at-sea deployment next year.
The Ministry of Defence says Atlantic Bastion is a response to rising Russian submarine operations around the UK, including recent movements by the intelligence-gathering vessel Yantar. Defence Intelligence has assessed that Moscow is modernizing its undersea fleet for operations against Western infrastructure such as communication cables and pipelines. The government wants a fast route from concept to field trial, and has committed millions of pounds this year to early development while promising more funding as platforms mature.
The First Sea Lord, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, is using today’s International Sea Power Conference to set out how Atlantic Bastion underpins a modernized Royal Navy. His remarks describe a service that has always evolved its methods in response to adversaries and now intends to combine advanced autonomy with the experience of trained crews. The programme’s geographic focus stretches from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to the Norwegian Sea, where it will build a persistent underwater network designed to withstand interference and continue operating during crises.
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