Royal Navy gets £90M funding injection for drones, sensors and AI

The UK government is investing £90 million in new drones, underwater sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) systems for the Royal Navy to strengthen its ability to detect threats and protect critical undersea infrastructure in the North Atlantic.

The framework, developed with UK-based company Ocean Infinity Solutions, will establish Atlantic Net, a network of autonomous systems operating across the North Atlantic to strengthen the Royal Navy’s ability to protect critical shipping routes and undersea infrastructure.

The system will combine advanced underwater sensors to detect Russian submarines and other hostile activity with uncrewed platforms capable of patrolling the seabed and monitoring potential threats.

By bringing these technologies together into a single surveillance service, Atlantic Net will provide submarine-hunting warships and Astute-class submarines with earlier warning of threats and a clearer picture of activity beneath the surface.

The framework is part of the Royal Navy’s wider Atlantic Bastion program to create a hybrid naval force of crewed and uncrewed vessels.

"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. 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," Minister for Defense Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard said.

Atlantic Bastion is the Royal Navy’s plan to create a hybrid naval force to hunt and track enemy submarines and protect the vast network of critical underwater infrastructure that connects and powers the UK and its allies, including communications cables and energy networks. Working alongside NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies, it is expected to strengthen protection against interference, sabotage and hostile activity, with Atlantic Net increasing the scale, persistence and resilience of underwater surveillance.

The Royal Navy and Ocean Infinity Solutions will bring together maritime systems, underwater sensing, communications, remote operations and data services into a single capability directed by the Royal Navy, it was concluded.