NATO allies disrupt Russian exercise involving secret weapon targeting subsea cables, Reuters reports
The operation was carried out by Russia's Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research (GUGI), which used deep-sea submersibles to simulate deploying the technology, according to two Western officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.
NATO allies successfully thwarted a covert Russian naval exercise near Norway's Svalbard archipelago, according to Reuters. The exercise, conducted by Russia's Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research (GUGI), involved simulating technology designed to disable critical subsea cables without leaving a trace. Western officials reported that Britain, Norway, and the United States tracked and confronted the Russian vessels, preventing them from completing the exercise.
No subsea cables were damaged during the operation. NATO's Defense Minister Tore Sandvik emphasized that the joint operation sent a clear message to Russia that they cannot operate covertly and will face consequences if they attempt to target critical infrastructure. The exercise took place in an area where two fiber-optic cables, totaling about 1,400 kilometers, connect Svalbard with mainland Norway, carrying satellite data from the SvalSat ground station.
Undersea sabotage has become a growing concern in Europe, with instances of damage to subsea cables and Russian vessels near critical underwater infrastructure increasing since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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