Following a spate of undersea cable disruptions in the recent weeks, with the most recent happening in November, NATO is drawing up plans for a fleet of naval surveillance drones to monitor the major bodies of water surrounding Europe — specifically, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean.
French Admiral Pierre Vandier, the current Supreme Allied Commander in charge of evolving NATO forces and capabilities, told Defense News that doing this is similar to having CCTV cameras mounted on street lights to help monitor urban trouble spots and record evidence. “The technology is there to make this street lighting with USVs,” says Vandier. He also added that the deployment of this system would allow the alliance to “see and monitor daily its environment.”
