BBC:
In the dark waters off the west coast of Scotland, a slender submarine glider, like a torpedo with wings, slips under the surface and quickly disappears off into the murk.
The SG-1 Fathom is on the prowl for intruders.
“The glider patrols through the depths of the ocean monitoring and listening for adversaries that might be in the area,” says Fathom’s programme manager Katie Raine.
Adversaries like Russian submarines operating covertly in or near British waters, suspected of working with spy ships to map the UK’s vital undersea cables and pipelines.
Fathom, made by the German defence company Helsing and now being trialled by the Royal Navy, moves silently, its sensors constantly gathering information.
It’s designed to patrol for months on end, working autonomously with dozens of other gliders, using software trained on decades of acoustic data.
“The glider processes and identifies threats more quickly than we’ve been able to do previously,” Raine says.
If it proves effective, Fathom will likely form part of Atlantic Bastion, a network of drones, warships and surveillance aircraft aimed at protecting vital undersea infrastructure.
