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Underwater Domain Becomes New Frontier for Defense Technology
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Rising Threats Prompt Underwater Focus
Governments and defense firms are accelerating development of autonomous systems to monitor and protect critical subsea infrastructure after a series of sabotage incidents highlighted the vulnerability of ocean-floor assets such as telecommunications cables and pipelines.
Background: Hybrid Warfare and Subsea Vulnerabilities
Investigators concluded that the Nord Stream pipelines were sabotaged in September 2022, underscoring the fragility of undersea assets. More than 1.5 million km of submarine communications cables were in service worldwide as of early 2026, according to TeleGeography. Damage to cables in Europe, North America, the Arctic and near Taiwan has prompted NATO and national intelligence agencies to note increased submarine activity by rival states.
Industry Moves: Major Players and Investments
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced in July a €600 million spend to acquire majority stakes in four firms covering underwater and surface drones, marine surveying and subsea communications.
German-based Euroatlas is commercialising the autonomous underwater vehicle GrayShark, which can operate without continuous human control. The company reports contracts worth over €100 million with unnamed European navies and is developing a hydrogen-fuel-cell version promising up to 16 weeks submerged or 8,000 nautical miles—though the endurance claim has not yet been demonstrated.
France’s Thales and other defense groups have expanded sonar, anti-submarine warfare and autonomous-underwater-system businesses to patrol vast seabed areas more cost-effectively than traditional warships.
Technological Capabilities and Limits
AUVs such as GrayShark can navigate to assigned zones, identify mine-like objects and relay data for human operators. “It is virtually impossible to cover the entire ocean,” notes Verineia Codrean, Euroatlas’s chief strategy and partnerships officer. Acoustic and other subsea communications have improved range, yet endurance and power remain bottlenecks.
Official Statements & Responses
Katja Bego, senior research fellow at Chatham House, says the changing threat environment has thrust underwater security to the forefront and stresses that “our whole economy is built on top of this.” She adds NATO members do not claim the ability to protect a network exceeding a million kilometres of cables.
Folgiero emphasizes that future surface vessels could act as “motherships,” coordinating fleets of drones that operate above the seabed and throughout the water column.
Codrean argues autonomous systems will complement, not replace, crewed submarines and warships, foreseeing increased “drone-against-drone” activity while retaining the need for human intervention in contested situations.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Euroatlas’s hydrogen-fuel-cell version of GrayShark is advertised with a 16-week underwater endurance, yet the company has not demonstrated this capability in operational trials. The €100 million in contracts with European navies remains unattributed, leaving the scope of deployment unclear.
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What’s Next
NATO allies are coordinating surveillance of the North Sea energy corridor, and the United States is expanding its underwater monitoring network, though deployment timelines remain undisclosed. Continued investment by defense contractors suggests autonomous seabed patrols will become a standard component of maritime security strategies.