The United Kingdom has bolstered its protection against Russian undersea threats in the North Atlantic through a transformation of the Royal Navy and its submarine-hunting capabilities.

The measure announced on Monday followed a resurgence in Russia’s submarine and underwater exercises, including the activities of Russian spy ship Yantar around UK waters in recent weeks.

According to the British Defence Intelligence, President Vladimir Putin is modernising the fleet of the Russian military with the aim of targeting critical undersea cables and pipelines.

The UK’s Atlantic Bastion programme, which has developed and tested innovative anti-submarine sensor technology, will be launched today as the government delivers on the Strategic Defence Review’s vision.

Atlantic Bastion, the Defence Ministry says, places the UK ahead in naval technological revolution, combining the latest autonomous surface, underwater vessels, and modern digital infrastructure with warships and patrol aircraft.

The programme will create an advanced hybrid naval force to defend the UK and NATO allies against evolving threats, and enable Britain to locate and act against adversaries “with unprecedented effectiveness across vast areas of ocean”.

Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, noted that the United Kingdom must rapidly innovate at a wartime pace to maintain the battlefield edge because “this new era of threat demands a new era for defence”.

Healey called Atlantic Bastion “a blueprint for the future of the Royal Navy”, as it integrates the current AI technologies with water and air assets “to create a highly advanced hybrid fighting force to detect, deter and defeat those who threaten us”.

The defence system will ensure quick battlefield decisions for targeting threats as ships, submarines, aircraft and unmanned vessels are connected through AI-powered acoustic detection technology and integrated into a digital targeting web.