Page 8: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2026)

SUBSEA DEFENSE

NEW YEAR, NEW GEAR:

Threats, Modularity, and Agility to

Drive Subsea

Defense in 2026

A U.S. Navy Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC) maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean during UNITAS 2025, the 66th iteration of the world’s longest-running multinational maritime exercise.

Of? cial U.S. Navy photo

By David Strachan, Strikepod Systems he year 2025 will be remembered as one of accelerat- highlighted the ongoing convergence of mines, torpedoes, and ing technological evolution and mounting geopoliti- UUVs. As a result, 2026 may see heightened interest in port and cal strain in the maritime domain. As the curtain rises harbor security, including underwater barriers, intrusion detec-

Ton 2026, the stage is set for further disruption driven tion systems, and non-kinetic counter-UUV systems, such as by advanced technologies, evolving undersea threats, and con- the Stingray net system from Annapolis-based Oceanetics.

tested maritime spaces. From the North Atlantic to the Per- sian Gulf, from seabed imaging to surface surveillance, marine Critical Underwater Infrastructure Defense technology is increasingly central to securing access, protect- Recent subsea incidents continue to underscore the vulnerabil- ing infrastructure, and managing escalation at sea. While the ity of critical underwater infrastructure (CUI) and the growing precise trajectory of these developments remains uncertain, six need for systematic protection. Repeated disruptions to subma- areas are likely to shape subsea defense in the year ahead. rine cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea, South China Sea, and

Red Sea have exposed how contested the seabed has become. In

Port and Harbor Security response, NATO announced Operation Baltic Sentry in January,

On December 15, 2025, Russia’s Novorossiysk Naval Base 2025 to enhance vigilance and deterrence in the Baltic Sea. Sim- was rocked by a powerful underwater explosion. The Ukrainian ilarly, in December 2025 the United Kingdom launched Atlantic

Security Service (SBU) subsequently claimed to have struck Bastion, a broad initiative aimed at strengthening undersea threat a Russian Kilo-class submarine berthed inside the harbor us- monitoring and response across the North Atlantic, including ing a previously unrevealed UUV, “Sub Sea Baby.” If accurate, protection of CUI. Atlantic Bastion seeks to integrate autono- the incident marked the