The United Kingdom announced plans for a framework with Southampton-based Ocean Infinity Solutions that could lead to an initial £90 million investment in Atlantic Net, a planned Royal Navy network to monitor underwater threats in the North Atlantic.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard made the announcement at the International Sea Power Conference in Oslo on Nov. 10. The Ministry of Defence said the framework was due to be signed that day.
The planned network would link sensors with autonomous platforms and other systems to watch activity below the surface. The government says it is designed to help identify Russian submarines, guard undersea cables and energy networks, and give Royal Navy ships and Astute-class submarines earlier warning of underwater threats.
Pollard said the investment would allow the network to become operational from 2027, but gave no month. Atlantic Net is intended as the first capability under Atlantic Bastion, the Royal Navy’s wider effort to protect North Atlantic waters and undersea infrastructure.
The 2025 Strategic Defence Review describes Atlantic Bastion as a layered network of sensors working with crewed ships and uncrewed vehicles above, on and below the water. It cites sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and cuts to undersea data cables as examples of the risks facing such infrastructure.
The Ministry expects the Ocean Infinity framework to support almost 200 new skilled jobs and benefit the company’s immediate supply chain. Pollard said British small and medium-sized suppliers would provide most Atlantic Net platforms and systems. He argued that defense readiness depends on industrial investment, saying, “we cannot be ready if we don’t invest in industry.”
Pollard also announced a Saab UK contract to add lightweight radar designed to counter drones to Kraken K3 vessels. Saab UK and Kraken had previously announced an experimental K3 Scout prototype equipped with Saab’s Giraffe 1X radar. Pollard’s announcement did not specify the new work’s radar model, vessel count or delivery schedule.
