Insights

1. Atlantic Net & The “Atlantic Bastion” Hybrid Fleet Strategy

Unveiled on November 10, 2026, during the International Sea Power Conference (ISPC) in Oslo convened by First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, Atlantic Net represents the first operational phase of the Royal Navy’s broader Atlantic Bastion programme. Formulated as a core recommendation of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review, Atlantic Bastion aims to establish a hybrid naval force pairing traditional crewed warships and submarines with autonomous surface and subsurface systems.

• Distributed Underwater Surveillance: Atlantic Net links autonomous uncrewed vessels, deep-sea sensors, communications relays, and AI-enabled data services into a single unified surveillance network directed by the Royal Navy.
• Force Multiplication for Crewed Assets: By maintaining persistent sensor coverage over vast ocean expanses, the network provides early warning and cuing intelligence to submarine-hunting surface warships and Astute-class nuclear attack submarines, allowing commanders to allocate scarce crewed assets more effectively.
• Rapid Operational Fielding: First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins confirmed that the initial phase of Atlantic Net will become operational within months, with full-scale anti-submarine warfare (ASW) surveillance across the strategic Greenland–Iceland–UK (GIUK) gap scheduled to enter sustained operations in 2027.

2. Ocean Infinity Solutions Selected as Commercial Mission Partner

Following a competitive evaluation of 26 industry proposals that narrowed to five shortlisted contenders in September 2026, the Ministry of Defence selected Hampshire-based Ocean Infinity Solutions (the UK subsidiary of Ocean Infinity Group) as the Royal Navy’s Commercial Mission Partner.

• Marine Robotics & Armada Fleet Pedigree: Operating as the dedicated UK defense and security arm of marine robotics pioneer Ocean Infinity (founded in 2017 and headquartered in Hampshire), Ocean Infinity Solutions brings extensive dual-use expertise in ultra-deep-water seabed reconnaissance. Its parent group operates the Armada fleet—the world’s largest fleet of robotic, lean-crewed and uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) capable of deploying multiple Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) simultaneously for high-resolution hydrographic mapping and subsea telecom cable route inspections.
• Shore-Based Remote Control Infrastructure: Ocean Infinity Solutions leverages its established Remote Control Centre in Southampton, where shore-based operators command and monitor uncrewed maritime platforms over satellite links. Built upon technologies proven in demanding commercial offshore energy surveys and high-profile deep-sea search missions (including the discoveries of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance and the submarine ARA San Juan), this remote architecture allows sustained maritime surveillance with dramatically reduced offshore crew footprints.
• Contractor-Owned, Contractor-Operated, Naval Oversight (COCONO): Rather than procuring standalone hulls through conventional multi-year defense acquisition cycles, the Royal Navy is contracting surveillance as a managed operational service. Ocean Infinity Solutions and its specialist industry partners will own, operate, and maintain the autonomous platforms, sensor arrays, and remote operations centers under direct Royal Navy command and tasking.
• AI-Driven Acoustic & Seabed Analytics: The system integrates uncrewed and lean-crewed vessels with advanced underwater sensors and artificial intelligence to detect anomalies along seabed infrastructure corridors and track subsurface contacts in real time.

3. Countering Russian Subsea Threats & Protecting Critical Infrastructure

The £90 million investment directly addresses escalating Russian naval and gray-zone intelligence activity across the North Atlantic and High North. Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard emphasized that evolving threats beneath the North Atlantic require earlier detection capabilities to safeguard both national infrastructure and the UK’s continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent.

• Securing Transatlantic Subsea Cables & Energy Links: Subsea fiber-optic cables carry the vast majority of global internet and financial clearing traffic alongside offshore energy interconnectors and pipelines. Atlantic Net establishes continuous monitoring over these critical seabed arteries against interference, mapping, or sabotage.
• Recent North Atlantic & Arctic Catalysts: The announcement follows heightened UK and allied vigilance regarding Russian subsea capabilities, including Royal Navy tracking of the Russian intelligence-gathering vessel Yantar near UK waters and a September 2026 joint operation by UK, Norwegian, and U.S. forces near the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard that disrupted Russian submarines and deep-sea vehicles testing cable-sabotage technologies.

4. Allied Interoperability & UK Industrial Footprint

By operationalizing autonomous subsea surveillance under a commercial mission partner framework, the Royal Navy’s £90 million Atlantic Net investment marks a structural shift in underwater infrastructure defense—transitioning from periodic warship patrols to persistent, AI-enabled seabed monitoring across NATO’s northern maritime flank.