Brussels, Belgium (Agencies): NATO is in the early stages of developing a fleet of unmanned ships to safeguard critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas. This initiative follows a series of undersea cable damages in European waters over the past year.
Adm. Pierre Vandier, NATO’s Commander of Concepts and Transformation, likened the project to installing CCTV cameras on street lights in urban areas for continuous monitoring. The fleet, referred to as the “USV Fleet” (Unmanned Surface Vessels), will initially focus on surface-level surveillance before expanding to underwater operations.
The project has received strong support from NATO’s central naval command, MARCOM, and the alliance’s operational headquarters, SACEUR. Drawing on lessons from the U.S. Navy’s Task Force 59, which integrates unmanned systems and artificial intelligence in the 5th Fleet area of operations, NATO aims to launch the drone surveillance fleet before the next NATO Summit in the Netherlands next June.
The recent incidents of undersea cable disruptions, including damages to cables between Lithuania and Sweden and Finland and Germany, have underscored the need for enhanced maritime security. The new fleet will help monitor vital undersea cables and pipelines, ensuring the protection of critical infrastructure.