NATO Responds to Sabotage of Critical Undersea Infrastructure

On 23 October 2023,the Swedish government announced that an undersea telecommunications cable had been damaged through external force or tampering on 7 October.The cable connects to the Baltic State of Estonia.Two hours later on 7 October,the Balticonnector gas pipeline was sabotaged,and another undersea telecom cable as well.Two civilian vessels were present at all three incidents:Russian freighter Sevmorput and Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship Newnew Polar Bear.This is called grayzone aggression,a form of hybrid warfare that attacks undersea infrastructure.This form of hybrid warfare untilises proxy groups;private companies;civilian contractors;and other non-military actors.* For its part,NATO announced it was increasing patrols in the Baltic Sea Region on 19 October 2023.This consists of more surveillance flights by NATO E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft;new patrols by Maritime Patrol Aircraft and surveillance drones.Four NATO minesweepers are also being deployed.These can send Unmanned Undersea Vehicles to inspect for cable and pipeline damage.They also have sonar to detect undersea activity with,plus radar.* Said NATO acting spokesperson Dylan White:We continue to monitor the situation closely,and we remain in close contact with our Allies Estonia and Finland,and our partner Sweden.NATO will continue to adapt its maritime posture in the Baltic Sea and will take all necessary measures to keep its Allies safe.In September 2022,it was noted that the Nord Stream gas pipeline had been sabotaged.Since that time,NATO has enhanced patrols near critical undersea infrastructure and utilised technological innovation to better detect suspicious activity.NATO also created an undersea infrastructure coordination cell to deepen ties between government,military and industry actors.It also established the NATO Maritime Centre for the Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure within Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) in Northwood,UK.* On 12 October 2023,NATO Defence Ministers and the Swedish Defence Ministry endorsed the Digital Ocean Vision,a new initiative to enhance NATO's maritime situational awareness from seabed to space.The DOV will transform Allied maritime domain awareness by enhancing coordination between Allied and national capabilities utilised for maritime surveillance.The programme includes a broad range of assets from satellites to autonomous systems below,on,or above the sea,the Alliance said.* Minesweepers have sonar,radar and minesweeping gear.The sonar detects and classifies targets and then the minesweepers deploy divers or Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUVs) to inspect and neutralise threats with explosive charges.For self-defence,they are armed with 20mm guns and machine guns.