The renaming of the spy station at the Whidbey Island naval base is a nod to a much larger US military project, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans: Conducting the biggest reconstruction of America’s anti-submarine spy programme since the end of the Cold War.
The most innovative change in the Navy’s ocean reconnaissance system is an investment in new technologies to miniaturise and globalise traditional maritime surveillance tools. Reuters was able to piece together details of the unit’s plans through interviews with more than a dozen people involved in the effort, including two current Navy staffers working on maritime surveillance, advisors to the Navy and defence contractors involved in the projects.That examination identified at least 30 deals linked to the surveillance programme signed over the last three years with defense giants as well as a string of startups working on unmanned sea drones and AI processing.
Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the US 5th Fleet, which is based in the Middle East and has led US sea drone trials, told Reuters the Navy is improving surveillance from “space to seabed” with the aim of painting the clearest-ever picture of global activity at sea. China’s Ministry of Defense did not respond to requests for comment about any aspect of this story. China's Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
This development has exposed the vulnerability of large surface vessels to drone attacks, and the need for the US Navy to master this technology for its own offensive operations, as well as learn ways to defend against it. That, in turn, could heighten the importance of submarine warfare in any conflict with China, the three people said.
The US Navy and Department of Defense did not respond to requests for comment about the pace at which the Navy is adopting new technologies.America’s underwater espionage programme was launched in the 1950s with a submarine detection system known as the Sound Surveillance System. Today, just two surveillance sites remain: the facility located within the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington State, and another at the Dam Neck naval station in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Adding to that urgency: The need to protect subsea internet cables crisscrossing the ocean floor, a global network that carries 99 per cent of transcontinental internet traffic. These cables are the heart of an intensifying competition between the United States and China to control advanced technologies, Reuters reported in March.