We examine the challenges posed by the modern subsea domain and how nations can gain an advantage.
From protecting infrastructure to ensuring resilience, nations are facing a new age of competition in the subsea environment. As technology advancements continue to open the door to new capabilities, threats are increasing in frequency and severity – putting the onus on nations to respond in the interest of national security and economic prosperity.
At the core of any effective response is data. Building a secure, reliable and agile underwater digital architecture that gets data and intelligence into the hands of operators to aid decision making is a strategic imperative.
This is what we are working to enable at BAE Systems Digital Intelligence. Collaborating across the BAE Systems Group and the UK SME ecosystem, we are applying our decades of expertise in the secure collection, transmission and analysis of defence data to the subsea domain – in pursuit of operational independence and securing an advantage in the modern battlespace from seabed to space.
Exploiting the underwater battlespace
With the subsea domain quickly emerging as a new arena of strategic conflict, how can we engineer the underwater battlespace to our advantage?
Download our whitepaper to learn about the scale of the subsea threat and why there’s an urgent need for next-generation underwater networking capabilities that can help shape an effective response.
Our work in the subsea domain covers three key areas:
Given the vastness of the underwater environment and the stealth capabilities of modern platforms, maintaining an accurate picture of the operational landscape is a significant challenge.
That’s why the UK, along with many other nations around the world, has a clear need for a persistent underwater wide-area surveillance system that can deliver subsea ISR capabilities to counter emerging threats.
Like many other defence domains, threat levels in the underwater battlespace are increasing as a wider group of sophisticated adversaries emerge. As such, the demand for information and intelligence to inform timely decision-making to counter the ASW threat in multiple regions, simultaneously and persistently, is greater than ever.
As the 2025 Strategic Defence Review highlights, “the UK’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities are a central aspect of European defence”.
Nations globally rely on seabed infrastructure for national security and a fully functioning modern society. While increasingly central to our economies and daily lives, this infrastructure – which includes oil and gas pipelines, energy interconnectors and vital undersea data cables – continues to be at risk of accidental damage and sabotage.
As the potential impacts of significant, coordinated damage grow, greater resilience and a proactive approach to threat detection and response are critical.
Gaining an advantage in the underwater battlespace
"With the subsea domain continuing to evolve at pace, we are facing a clear and present danger to both our national security and economic prosperity. Getting the right data into the hands of operators as quickly as possible has never been more critical.”
Tim O'Neill, Campaign Lead for Subsea Intelligence
Contact us today to discuss your requirements or subscribe to our insights newsletter, The Digital Thread, to receive our expert's perspectives on the latest trends, issues and technologies
Explore careers working with us
Click below to explore current roles and opportunities working with us and join the team