UK Spends £90 Million on Drones, Sensors and AI to Hunt Russian Submarines and Protect Undersea Cables

Britain will spend £90 million — about $121 million — on drones, underwater sensors and artificial intelligence to help the Royal Navy hunt Russian submarines and protect the undersea cables and energy networks that keep the country connected. The announcement, made on Tuesday 10 November 2026, is the first step in a much bigger plan to build a hybrid navy of crewed ships and uncrewed machines across the North Atlantic.

The new system is called Atlantic Net. It will work alongside the Navy’s warships and submarines, giving them earlier warning of threats moving beneath the surface. The deal was announced at the International Sea Power Conference in Oslo, Norway, aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales — the same ship where, on the same day, ten northern European nations were due to sign a new naval partnership to deter Russian submarines.

For ordinary people, this is not just a military story. The cables on the seabed carry almost all of the world’s internet traffic, along with phone calls, banking data and power. If they are damaged, the effects would be felt far beyond the navy. That is why Britain, and its allies, are treating the ocean floor as a front line.

What is Atlantic Net?

Atlantic Net is a network of autonomous — self-driving — systems that will operate across the North Atlantic. It brings together several kinds of technology into one service, directed by the Royal Navy:

• Underwater sensors that can detect submarines and other suspicious activity.
• Uncrewed vessels that can patrol the depths of the sea for long periods without a crew on board.
• Communications and data services that pull the information together.
• Artificial intelligence that helps analyse what the sensors pick up, so threats can be spotted faster.

The system will create a single surveillance service. Its job is to give submarine-hunting warships and Britain’s Astute-class submarines an earlier warning of threats and a clearer picture of what is happening beneath the surface.

The framework agreement is with Ocean Infinity Solutions, a company based in Hampshire. It will pave the way for £90 million of investment and support almost 200 new skilled jobs, along with work for the company’s immediate supply chain. The government says the deal builds on the 38,700 jobs in South East England that are already directly supported by Ministry of Defence spending with industry.

Defence Readiness and Industry Minister Luke Pollard, who announced the deal, 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.”

He added: “It shows that we’re getting on with the job of investing in our Armed Forces and strengthening our deterrence under the sea, to support our ultimate, nuclear deterrent.”

What is Atlantic Bastion?

Atlantic Net is the first phase of a wider Royal Navy programme called Atlantic Bastion. The goal is to create a hybrid naval force — a mix of crewed ships and uncrewed vessels — that can hunt and track enemy submarines and protect the vast network of underwater infrastructure that connects and powers Britain and its allies.

That infrastructure includes communications cables, energy networks and shipping routes. Atlantic Bastion was a key recommendation of the government’s Strategic Defence Review, the major review of Britain’s armed forces.

According to the specialist defence site Navy Lookout, Atlantic Net will be run as a contractor-owned, contractor-operated service. That means Ocean Infinity will own and operate the vessels and sensors, while the Royal Navy directs the work. The aim is for the system to be operational from 2027, with an early focus on the Greenland–Iceland–UK gap — the stretch of ocean between Greenland, Iceland and Britain that Russian submarines must cross to reach the wider Atlantic from their northern bases.

The programme will be developed with industry, the Royal Navy and Commercial X, a unit set up to speed up maritime buying and cut through slow procurement.

A second deal: radar for uncrewed patrol boats

The Atlantic Net announcement came with a second deal. Saab UK has been contracted to fit lightweight Giraffe 1X radars onto the Navy’s Kraken K3 Scout fleet — uncrewed patrol boats used to guard Britain’s coastline.

The radar can detect and track small airborne targets, such as drones, and pass that information on so another system can deal with the threat. It is part of the same shift: using uncrewed systems and sensors to watch more sea and sky, more of the time, without putting sailors in harm’s way.

Why now? The threat under the sea

Western officials have warned that Russia has increased its activity around subsea infrastructure. In April 2026, Britain said it had deployed military vessels to deter Russian submarines that it said had spent more than a month in and around British waters. London warned Moscow that any attempt to damage cables or pipelines would have “serious consequences”. Russia has denied the allegations.

The concern is not new, but it has grown sharper. Undersea cables carry the internet, phone calls and financial transactions that modern life depends on. Gas pipelines and power links run along the same seabed. In recent years, several cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea have been damaged in incidents that European governments have blamed on sabotage or reckless behaviour — a pattern that has pushed navies across northern Europe to watch the seabed more closely.

That is also the backdrop to the naval partnership being signed in Oslo on the same day as the Atlantic Net announcement. Ten nations in the Joint Expeditionary Force — Britain, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden — were due to sign the agreement aboard HMS Prince of Wales, tying their navies closer together in the Baltic and the North Atlantic.

The UK government says Atlantic Bastion will work alongside NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force allies to strengthen protection against interference, sabotage and hostile activity, with Atlantic Net increasing the scale, persistence and resilience of underwater surveillance.

What changes for the Royal Navy?

For the Royal Navy, Atlantic Net is about doing more with the ships it already has. Submarine-hunting is slow, hard work. A crewed warship or submarine can only be in one place at a time, and the North Atlantic is enormous. A network of sensors and uncrewed vessels can watch far more water, for far longer, and pass what it finds back to the ships and submarines that can act on it.

The idea is simple: machines do the watching, people do the deciding. The sensors and drones give earlier warning, the warships and Astute-class submarines get a clearer picture, and commanders can respond before a threat gets close to a cable, a pipeline or the nuclear deterrent.

The contractor-operated model is also a change. Instead of the Navy buying and crewing every vessel itself, a private company will operate the surveillance network under Navy direction. Supporters say this gets new capability into service faster and cheaper. The test will be whether Atlantic Net is actually watching the Greenland–Iceland–UK gap by 2027, as planned.

What it means for jobs and industry

The government is presenting the deal as a defence and jobs story at the same time. The framework with Ocean Infinity Solutions will support almost 200 new skilled jobs, plus work for the company’s supply chain. Most of the systems will be delivered by British small and medium-sized businesses, according to trade reports on the announcement.

That fits a wider pattern in British defence policy: spending on new technology is expected to support jobs and industry at home, not just buy equipment from abroad. The Ministry of Defence already supports 38,700 jobs in South East England through its spending with industry, and the government says the Atlantic Net deal adds to that.

What happens next?

The framework agreement was due to be signed on 10 November 2026, the day of the announcement. From here, the key dates to watch are:

• 2027: Atlantic Net is expected to become operational, with its first sensors in the water and an early focus on the Greenland–Iceland–UK gap.
• The Oslo naval pact: the ten Joint Expeditionary Force nations signing their partnership aboard HMS Prince of Wales will set out how their navies work together in the Baltic and the North Atlantic.
• The K3 Scout radar rollout: Saab’s Giraffe 1X radars will be fitted to the uncrewed patrol fleet for coastal defence.

The bigger question is whether the investment keeps pace with the threat. £90 million is a significant sum, but it is the first phase of a larger programme, and the government has not yet said how much Atlantic Bastion will cost in total. What is clear is the direction: more sensors, more uncrewed vessels, more AI — and a seabed that is now treated as seriously as the skies above it.

Why this matters

Undersea cables are easy to forget. They lie out of sight on the ocean floor, yet they carry the data that runs economies, hospitals, banks and governments. When a cable is cut — by accident or on purpose — the damage can take weeks to repair, because the repair ships have to find the break, lift the cable and splice it, often in rough seas.

Britain’s bet is that it is cheaper to watch the seabed than to repair it. Atlantic Net is that bet in practice: a net of sensors, drones and AI, spread across the North Atlantic, designed to spot trouble before it reaches the cables. If it works, the £90 million will look like a bargain. If it does not, the next incident in the North Atlantic will be the test that matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Atlantic Net?

Atlantic Net is a new Royal Navy surveillance network of drones, underwater sensors and artificial intelligence systems. It will operate across the North Atlantic to detect Russian submarines and protect undersea cables and energy networks. It is the first phase of the wider Atlantic Bastion programme.

How much is Britain spending?

The framework agreement paves the way for £90 million of investment — about $121 million. The deal is with Hampshire-based Ocean Infinity Solutions and is expected to support almost 200 new skilled jobs.

When will Atlantic Net be ready?

The aim is for Atlantic Net to be operational from 2027, with an early focus on the Greenland–Iceland–UK gap, the stretch of ocean between Greenland, Iceland and Britain.

What is the Greenland–Iceland–UK gap?

It is the sea passage between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom. Russian submarines based in the far north must pass through it to reach the wider Atlantic, which makes it one of the most closely watched stretches of water in the world.

Why are undersea cables so important?

Undersea cables carry almost all international internet traffic, along with phone calls and financial data. Power cables and gas pipelines also run along the seabed. Damage to them can disrupt communications, energy supplies and trade.

What is Atlantic Bastion?

Atlantic Bastion is the Royal Navy’s plan to build a hybrid naval force of crewed ships and uncrewed vessels. Its job is to hunt and track enemy submarines and protect critical underwater infrastructure. It was a key recommendation of the Strategic Defence Review.

Sources

• GOV.UK — “£90 million investment for new drones and sensors to protect undersea cables and hunt Russian submarines” (10 November 2026): https://www.gov.uk/government/news/90-million-investment-for-new-drones-and-sensors-to-protect-undersea-cables-and-hunt-russian-submarines
• Reuters — “Britain to invest £90 million in drones, sensors to counter Russian undersea threats” (10 November 2026): https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-invest-90-million-drones-sensors-counter-russian-undersea-threats-2026-11-10/
• Navy Lookout — “Royal Navy announces initial Atlantic Net agreement” (10 November 2026): https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navy-announces-initial-atlantic-net-agreement/

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.