US, UK, and Australia Develop Underwater Drones for Cables

The Federal government of the United States, the Government of the United Kingdom, and the Parliament of Australia have launched a joint project to develop underwater drone technology by 2027. The initiative aims to protect undersea cables that carry more than 95% of global data flows and trillions of dollars in daily financial transactions.

These efforts follow warnings from Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, who described the seabed as a battlefield during a regional defense gathering in Singapore. Marles emphasized the vulnerability of this critical infrastructure to interference or attack.

In a separate but related effort, the Government of Singapore has established a 17-country framework to explore defense cooperation regarding critical infrastructure. This framework includes participating nations from Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania.