Subsea Intelligence: building the future network and data fabric

The subsea threat to the UK is very real and has been for some time. To quote a Policy Exchange paper – ‘Undersea Cables, Indispensable, Insecure’ – authored by Rishi Sunak MP before he became Prime Minister: “A successful attack would deal a crippling blow to Britain’s security and prosperity. The threat is nothing short of existential. Working with global partners it is crucial that we act now to protect against these dangers, ensuring that our century’s greatest innovation does not also become its undoing.”

This is backed up by another paper – ‘From Space to Seabed’ – released this year from Policy Exchange, which says: “Technological and operational developments have brought geopolitical competition to the seabed. As the ability to manoeuvre, map and operate at greater depths increases, critical maritime infrastructure along the seabed resembles the exposed underbelly of national security in a new age of undersea warfare."

Undersea warfare is not new; submarines have long played a vital role in the Royal Navy’s history, while the Royal Navy has for decades maintained mine-countermeasure vessels in the Persian Gulf to destroy unexploded sea mines from the Iran-Iraq war. What is new, and the two think-tank quotes attest to this, is the growing threat to critical infrastructure on the seabed and the resulting risk to national security – a clear and present danger.

As such, we as a country must invest in delivering networked underwater assets, that connect and protect critical infrastructure, and that equip us with the sensors and effectors necessary to make the subsea space safe, in turn making sure that we can look forward to a future that is stable, secure and prosperous.

Recognising an evolving threat

One of the key shifts we’re seeing in this area of defence is the need for mass in the form of a new breed of uncrewed underwater vehicles in order to keep pace with our adversaries, who are themselves pivoting to uncrewed platforms in a way that is making the threat even more potent. Infrastructure at depths hitherto unreachable is now within reach, while globalisation – powered by enhanced connectivity and faster telecommunications – means our reliance on this infrastructure is increasing and will continue to do so.

As such, we need the indicators and warnings to prevent attacks before they happen, requiring sensors and platforms to be connected – covertly where necessary – and able to communicate data locally or remotely in order to prosecute the decide and effect functions. Not only that, these platforms must also be able to pass this data to our assets and people on the water, in the air, at high altitude, in space and ashore. Linking sensors, decision makers and effectors in this way will be key to unlocking force dominance.

A critical point to remember is that the subsea threat isn’t just about military power, or border security, or gas pipelines and telecoms. It is all these things; cross-government, industry-wide and internationally.

And the UK government has already made positive steps in recognising the threat as well as setting policy, strategy and requirements. The previously mentioned Policy Exchange papers clearly demonstrate that demand signal. As does the UK’s 2024 Defence Drone Strategy – drone being defined in the Strategy as encompassing all uncrewed vehicles, including uncrewed underwater systems – which aims to deliver a unified approach to uncrewed systems across all three military services, supported by £4.5 billion of investment, and harnessing data from Ukraine and other theatres to continuously refine our capabilities. To quote from the strategy: “Drones are a game-changing technology that are constantly evolving, and it is crucial that the UK continues to invest in and maintain our position on the cutting edge of drone development to stay one step ahead of our adversaries.”

Spearheading industry’s response

Of course, this top-down demand signal is irrelevant unless there’s a bottom up response. Fortunately industry has been paying attention; it is ready to make the difference, and BAE Systems will be part of that. For example, we are investing in engineering solutions and building underwater systems capable of connecting at close range, longer range and covertly.

Some of this needs to be point to point, but the solution also needs to deliver an interoperable network architecture that joins interchangeable actors and agents together. It is the connecting of sensors, transmitters and receivers over an underwater network architecture that will equip decision makers with the data they need, at the point of need, to protect, secure and deliver effect.

This capability is being brought to life through our Digital Intelligence Laboratories facility, where our specialist Electronic Systems team is front and centre of our response to the subsea threat and to the demand we are seeing for technology solutions capable of meeting the networked underwater sense and connect requirement. These solutions must allow platforms to dynamically join, leave and re-join the network over a combination of underwater communications bearers as the platforms come within range, move out of range and return.

The technology roadmap we have designed supports a future standardised network architecture where underwater communications enable multi system cooperation linking disaggregated assets, unlocking new levels of force dominance and subsea control.

And we very much view this as a team sport; we welcome industry – nationally and internationally, including SMEs – into an ecosystem of partners. Equally, we welcome platform providers to help de-risk capability insertion as we look forward to participation in the trials and exercise programmes that lie ahead.

Ultimately, the subsea threat is clear, as is the governmental response – both nationally and internationally. Industry’s response is also clear, and the onus now is on the all parties to work together to develop the technologies and capabilities that will give us the networked competitive edge in this new age of undersea warfare.