The Royal Navy will launch a fleet of 'drone' submarines to protect vital undersea cables from Russian 'shadow fleet' attacks in what Minsters have called a move to 'pre-war footing'.
A prototype of the unmanned 19-tonne vessel, named Excalibur, was launched at Devonport naval base last week and will pave the way for production of an entire squadron.
They are designed to safeguard vital subsea infrastructure, according to the Ministry of Defence, and will be central to the Government's new defence plans.
Underwater fibre-optic cables which lie on the ocean floor allow for global communication and internet connectivity between continents, whilst other cables are responsible for carrying electricity.
Excalibur will now embark on two years of trials as the Royal Navy seeks to strengthen its capabilities in the 'underwater battlespace' amid increasingly bold incursions from Russia's 'dark fleet' which transmit false data to dodge detection.
