NATO has started developing its own fleet of surface and submersible drones intended to protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas. This initiative was reported by the military news outlet Defense News.
Recent months have seen repeated damage to underwater cables in European waters, with the most recent incident occurring on November 18. In that case, the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3 was suspected of damaging a communication cable between Germany and Finland.
The new operational group being developed by NATO will enable continuous surveillance both above and below the water, as well as the ability to report suspicious movements in real-time. The goal is to establish round-the-clock monitoring of waters under NATO jurisdiction.
According to Admiral Pierre Vandier, head of concept development and transformation at NATO, his team is in the initial phase of developing the fleet. However, Vandier noted in an interview with Defense News that the project has already received “significant support” from NATO’s Maritime Command (Marcom) and Allied Command Operations (Saceur).
