At a recent NATO-organised event in Portugal, experts at Finnish telecommunications corporation Nokia revealed progress in new ways to monitor for signs of potential attacks on cables off the Irish coast.
Nokia, one of the world’s leading communications companies, also revealed plans to meet with Irish government members, defense forces and Garda Síochána officials to discuss the new strategy. Described as a “revolutionary system”, the plans aim to protect vulnerable subsea cables and pipelines which pass through Irish waters.
Large numbers of subsea telecommunications cables, as well as gas and electrical lines, can be found around the country, connecting the Atlantic, the US and mainland Europe.
Head of Critical Undersea Infrastructure Coordination, NATO General Hans-Werner Wiermann, announced in a statement that unusual traffic near cables in European waters have shown the possibility of mapping activities.
A recent major military mobilization was held at coastal towns an hour south of Lisbon, Portugal during which NATO and partner nations joined to test new technologies such as undersea and airborne drones, as well as equipment to monitor pipelines and cables.
Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems, otherwise known as REPMUS, assesses the development of innovative technology. This is a Portuguese project and is particularly focused on the naval industry.
Dynamic Messenger, a second event, takes place alongside the NATO event and welcomes scientists working with military personnel to test new subsea equipment.
The move comes as a result of the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage in the Baltic Sea, prompting European and NATO officials to create new ways to prevent future attacks.
The undersea cables send messages using light as they contain fiber optics. Nokia’s solution works on monitoring fluctuations in light traveling down cables, measuring fluctuations to determine the functionality and effectiveness of the cable. It subsequently aims to measure longevity and assess whether they’ve been compromised by interference from sabotage and also from seismic events.
Referred to as Distributed Acoustic Sensors, the solutions have been deployed at a range of offshore platforms across Norway. Conversations are currently underway and meetings with the Irish are set to begin this month.
As light travels along the fiber cable, it reaches deformations, subsequently creating a small mirror and sends the light back. From here, areas of pressure build up can then be established. Data is then sent to a command center which monitors the incidents in real time.
However, due to the expansive scale of the area, it is reportedly impossible to monitor the entire length of the cables. Using real time data, they will no longer rely on sonar works and other forms of detection.
From discussions which took place at the NATO event in Portugal, it was clear that drone technology would play a fundamental role in cable monitoring.
The extent and importance of the cables and their protection came to light in January 2023 when Russia announced the commencement of naval exercises directly above those in the Irish EEZ. Following protests from the government, these exercises were later moved further offshore into the Atlantic Ocean.
Russia is believed to possess naval ships capable of interfering with subsea cables.