Royal Navy: £90 million for “Atlantic Net” against Russian submarines – which company takes it on

London is turning to unmanned systems to track Russian submarines in the North Atlantic. The British Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday, November 10 a £90 million investment in “Atlantic Net”, a network of autonomous systems and sensors for the Royal Navy. The announcement was made at the International Sea Power conference in Oslo.

The contractor is Ocean Infinity Solutions, based in Hampshire, which signs a framework agreement and takes the role of “commercial mission partner”. The assets will belong to the company, which will operate them, while the Navy directs the mission. Maritime systems, underwater sensors, communications, remote control and data services will be joined into a single surveillance service. The aim is for anti-submarine warships and Astute-class submarines to have earlier warning and a clearer picture of what moves beneath the surface.

The network will also protect the undersea communications cables and energy networks linking Britain with its allies, as well as the country’s nuclear deterrent. London estimates that nearly 200 new highly skilled jobs will be created. “The threats beneath the North Atlantic are changing and we are changing with them,” said Defence Minister Luke Pollard, adding that the investment gives the Navy technology to detect threats earlier. Joe Robinson, president of Ocean Infinity’s Solutions division, spoke of a shift from fleets with large crews to a combination of robotic platforms and reduced-crew vessels.

The next step: Type 92 and Type 93

Atlantic Net is the first phase of the Atlantic Bastion programme, with which the Royal Navy is building a hybrid force of crewed and uncrewed ships, as proposed by the Strategic Defence Review. The second phase envisages state-owned Type 92 uncrewed surface vessels and Type 93 underwater vehicles, under the Navy’s direct control. The need is known, since the Commons Defence Committee has already pointed out that the Navy will have five anti-submarine frigates instead of eight.

For the Type 92 manufacturers are already making their moves. Norway’s Kongsberg Maritime unveiled on November 9 the Arctic Hunter, a vessel derived from a proven commercial ship design for Arctic waters that will carry a Thales UK anti-submarine warfare sonar. The company proposes that it operate from a forward support base inside the Arctic Circle and be built quickly in commercial shipyards. Russian activity near critical infrastructure has already prompted interventions, such as when Britain, Norway and the U.S. cut short a Russian exercise near Svalbard.