New RN ship to protect “critical” undersea cables
Royal Navy to build surveillance vessel to protect undersea cables “vital to the global economy”.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that it is to commission a purpose-built surveillance vessel to monitor and guard undersea cable in UK and international waters, reports the BBC.
Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, said the new ship will help safeguard vital national infrastructure at “risk of sabotage”. There are hundreds of thousands of miles of undersea cables circling the globe, providing critical internet and communications links between countries and continents.
According to the MoD, the new vessel will be fitted with “with advanced sensors and will carry a number of remotely operated and autonomous undersea drones which will collect data.”
The vessel will have a crew of 15 and will enter service in 2024. The MoD added that it will also “be able to support other defence tasks, including exercises and operations in the Arctic which will become an increasingly contested area”.
