Subsea cables and pipelines are highly vulnerable to attack from underwater vehicles. But start-up Ultra Maritime says its underwater sonar system could help fend them off.
Energy interconnectors, gas pipelines and communication cables are uniquely vulnerable to physical sabotage and hybrid attacks because of their immense geographic footprint, publicly charted locations and position at relatively accessible depths. Carrying roughly 99% of intercontinental data and vital energy supplies, these assets represent critical national infrastructure that remains nearly impossible to monitor continuously across thousands of miles.
But Ultra Maritime has demonstrated a new integrated active-passive sonar solution capable of providing persistent surveillance across contested maritime environments.
During the US Navy’s 2026 Lanternfish exercise, the company combined its Sea Spear deployable passive sonar with the newly developed SSQ-125B active sonobuoy to detect and localise unmanned underwater vehicles...