I thought the russians pioneered a way to tap the lines with their submarines
Russian submarines are prowling around vital undersea cables. Itâs making NATO nervous.
The Russian submarine Dmitry Donskoy, the worldâs largest in active service, arrives at Kronstadt Navy base, outside St. Petersburg, in July. (Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images)
By Michael Birnbaum December 22 at 6:56 PM ď
BRUSSELS â Russian submarines have dramatically stepped up activity around undersea data cables in the North Atlantic, part of a more aggressive naval posture that has driven NATO to revive a Cold War-era command, according to senior military officials.
The apparent Russian focus on the cables, which provide Internet and other communications connections to North America and Europe, could give the Kremlin the power to sever or tap into vital data lines, the officials said. Russian submarine activity has increased to levels unseen since the Cold War, they said, sparking hunts in recent months for the elusive watercraft.
âWe are now seeing Russian underwater activity in the vicinity of undersea cables that I donât believe we have ever seen,â said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Andrew Lennon, the commander of NATOâs submarine forces. âRussia is clearly taking an interest in NATO and NATO nationsâ undersea infrastructure.â
NATO has responded with plans to reestablish a command post, shuttered after the Cold War, to help secure the North Atlantic. NATO allies are also rushing to boost anti-submarine warfare capabilities and to develop advanced submarine-detecting planes.
https://archive.vn/AnQge#selection-1303.0-1583.192
Intelligence Coup: How One U.S. Nuclear Submarine Tapped Russian Undersea Cables
Wikimedia Commons
Share on FacebookF
Share on TwitterL
Share on LinkedInI
Subscribe to RSSR
May 30, 2020 Topic: Security Region: Eurasia Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags: MilitaryTechnologyWarWeaponsSoviet Union
A nuclear-powered American spy sub just off the Soviet coast at the bottom of the oceanâwhat could go wrong?
by Caleb Larson
Anuclear-powered American spy sub just off the Soviet coast at the bottom of the oceanâwhat could go wrong?
The Prize
One of the Soviet Unionâs important naval bases was located on the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russiaâs far east. The peninsula abuts the Sea of Okhotsk, a large bay west of Kamchatka and northeast of Japan. Though very far from Moscow, the Kamchatka Peninsula naval base was connected to another naval base at Vladivostok, near the Soviet Unionâs border with China and North Korea. Their connection was more than figurative. It was discovered that an underwater communications cable connected the two bases and was used heavily to communicate with each otherâand connected Kamchatka with Moscow.
The potential intelligence that could be gleaned from tapping the Kamchatka-Vladivostok cable was great, as would be the difficulty in gaining access to the cable. Most of the cable ran through the Sea of Okhotsk, a heavily protected bay that the Soviet Union considered to be part of its territorial waters. There were extensive anti-submarine obstacles and acoustic listening devices with which to monitor surface and underwater traffic. It would be a tough mission, but if successful, immeasurably valuable.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/intelligence-coup-how-one-us-nuclear-submarine-tapped-russian-undersea-cables-159086