NATO Must Adapt to Rising Threats Against Undersea Infrastructure (warontherocks.com)

• Approximately 44 undersea cable damage incidents recorded between January 2024 and July 2025.
• Russian deep-sea intelligence ship Yantar and three submarines conducted operations over Western cables.
• NATO launched Baltic Sentry in January 2025 to enhance maritime domain awareness in the Baltic Sea.
• Task Force X demonstrated uncrewed ISR capabilities in June 2025 to monitor seabed threats.
• EU proposed a €1 billion Cable Security Action Plan in February 2025.

"A War on the Rocks analysis details increasing vulnerability of undersea cables and pipelines, citing 44 cable damage incidents from Jan 2024 to Jul 2025. Russian activities include shadow fleet operations and deep-sea research vessel deployments. NATO has launched Baltic Sentry and Task Force X but needs more cost-effective solutions to avoid straining naval assets."