Securing the depths: the role of uncrewed tech in protecting CUI

The modern world is nearly entirely dependent on critical undersea infrastructure (CUI).  

Speaking about the vulnerability of CUI, Matt Western, the Chair of the UK’s Joint Committee on National Security Strategy, said it was “the soft underbelly of the NATO alliance” in a UK Parliamentary report in September.  

Euroatlas  

One company that is developing uncrewed platforms for protecting CUI is Euroatlas – a German company that describes itself as “A 60-year-old defence engineering company, [which is] entering a new phase.” 

After a long history of supplying defence power electronics, the company expanded into autonomous platforms in 2023, Verineia Codrean, Euroatlas’ Chief of Strategy, told DSEI Gateway. 

Serial deployment of the Bravo variant is planned for July/August this year, while Foxtrot will undergo trials at the ‘Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems’ NATO exercise in September. 

Greyshark is particularly well suited to CUI missions, Codrean explained, as it provides “both protection and monitoring” through modular payloads.

Beyond detection, Greyshark’s flooded hull provides it with a sonar signature as low as a jellyfish. It is also designed to have reduced electromagnetic emissions. 

These features reduce its operational profile while conducting missions to either monitor infrastructure or track vessels that may damage CUI. 

Codrean was unable to provide specifics on the countries that have purchased Greyshark, due to the sensitives around these new capabilities.  

However, she could reveal that there is “high interest, of course, from a number of European countries, but also from [a] certain number of Asian countries.”   

It is worth noting that Euroatlas and Evologics are working with Rheinmetall, which is acting as a distributor for the Greyshark UUV to help support production and market the system to militaries.  

Going forward, Codrean says the companies will continue to develop Greyshark with interoperability in mind to support integration alongside existing naval fleets and their cloud architectures, while progressing the fuel cell variant to maturity. 

Kraken Technology Group 

Another company helping to support CUI protection is Kraken Technology Group, a UK-based maritime company, which recently transitioned out of SME status following growth in revenue and headcount.  

Kraken pivoted from its original position as a primarily powerboat racing company – called Vector Racing – to defence in 2021, after sustained interest from defence ministries.   

In a conversation with DSEI Gateway, Mark Exeter, Kraken’s COO, explained that the company has since evolved into what he calls a defence “tech scale-up”, progressing through the typical startup phases in just two and a half years.   

He explained that the company’s early defence work with US Special Operations Command helped inform concepts for future capabilities, such as those suited to CUI defence.  

These capabilities are embedded in Kraken’s two primary platforms, the K4 Manta and K3 Scout, both of which went from concept to development within “eight to 10 weeks”, Exeter said.

While the K3 Scout is available now, the company is currently developing the K4 Manta – a hybrid uncrewed platform capable of operating on the surface and subsurface.   

Standing at 5.5m, the K4 Manta can carry ISR payloads of around 100kg, equipping it for a range of detection and monitoring missions. It can also submerge for covert operations when necessary.  

Both platforms are designed with speed in mind, leveraging Kraken’s heritage in waterborne racing, and are intentionally low-cost, he emphasised.   

“We don’t believe that buying capabilities should be an expensive exercise,” Exeter said, arguing that affordability is essential if navies are to field enough assets to secure large maritime choke points and protect CUI.  

For CUI, the vessels can be equipped with sensors such as electro optical, infrared, and sonar to monitor and detect potential ‘dark vessels’ (ships that do not broadcast their location).  

They can also create perimeter areas, utilising ISR capabilities, and can deploy kinetic and non-kinetic effects.

This continuous sensing and presence also act as a deterrent, Exeter said.  

Looking ahead, Kraken is positioning Scout and Manta as vital capabilities that can support the UK Royal Navy’s hybrid uncrewed-crewed vision and NATO’s wider maritime security aims.   

To meet these aims, the company is focusing on ensuring the vessels’ interoperability with UK-allied fleets and delivering uncrewed mass at a sustainable cost – key military maritime requirements.  

Looking to the future, Exeter explained that Kraken currently has “over eight” platforms under development.   

Meeting the strategic imperative  

To meet the strategic requirement for scalable, cost-efficient protection of CUI, NATO launched Baltic Sentry last year. 

This programme focuses on persistent subsea surveillance and works in tandem with Task Force X – a NATO uncrewed maritime systems initiative – that together aim to operationalise the use of uncrewed systems and protect CUI.

The Royal Navy plans to deploy its first sensors this year, as the initial operational step in creating a ‘system of systems’ for finding, tracking, and if needed, acting against an adversary in the subsea domain, the chief of the Royal Navy, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, said at DSEI UK in September.  

Ultimately, these initiatives demand a closer partnership with industry, which can provide the persistent presence and mass required to monitor and protect CUI at scale and pace.