As the USNS Bowditch was recovering a UUV (unmanned underwater vehicle, or underwater drone) in the South China Sea on 15th December, a light-fingered Chinese Navy salvage ship reportedly called Naniju swooped in and took it in spite of repeated bridge-to-bridge demands to return the craft.
UUV
Chinese warship seizes US underwater drone in international waters
The recent blogpost by BASIC’s Project Leader, Sebastian Brixey-Williams was referenced in The Guardian in an article which explored the impetus for China’s seizure of a US underwater drone.
Britain’s deep-sea defence: out of time?
Paul Rogers, a professor writing for Open Democracy, published an article outlining the threat of emerging technologies on the UK's nuclear submarines, particularly the advancement of swarming technologies. The article references BASIC as an organisation that address the issue of underwater technologies, and also sources David Hambling's briefing on emerging underwater drones.
Britain’s Trident Nuclear Program at Risk From Unmanned Sub Drones
Sputnik News published an article that was based on reports written by BASICs David Hambling on the security of the Trident replacement, given the emergence of new underwater technologies. The article quotes Hambling directly on two occasions to frame the context of the emerging underwater drone technology.
Drone technology a threat to Trident submarines, MPs to be told
David Connett has written an article for the Independant based on the BASIC briefing published on underwater drone technologies. Both BASIC and Paul Ingram are both referenced in the article, which discusses how emerging drone technology is likely to render Trident useless by the time it is to be deployed into service.
Trident: the British question
The Guardian’s Ian Jack was briefed by Paul Ingram on November’s SDSR and vulnerabilities to Trident, before writing this in-depth review. It is a holistic article that touches on nine diverse topics which are part of the complex debate of Trident in the UK.
Will Trident Still Work in the Future?
Developments in anti-submarine warfare could be decisive. Emerging developments in technology that are transforming our lives and already revolutionising the battle-space in air and on land could ensure that submarines will no longer be stealthy in the foreseeable future, however silent they are. This is undeniable, and claims that these risks are minimal to Trident’s future are patently false. The judgement comes in assessing this risk and when it becomes operational, based upon the speed of technology development today, and what countermeasures that could be developed. This briefing outlines the risk and its consequences to the programme.
‘Trident is Old Technology’: the Brave New World of Cyber Warfare
This article by the Guardian’s Julian Borger details emerging disruptive technologies and cyber warfare that “means a country can be brought to its knees with the click of a mouse.”