Luke Pollard, the UK Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, announced two defence industry deals in a speech at an event co-hosted by Norway and held aboard a ship, according to the text of his remarks published by GOV.UK. He thanked his Norwegian hosts and called Norway an indispensable strategic partner.
Atlantic Net framework
Pollard said the government is signing a framework agreement with Ocean Infinity Solutions, a company based in Southampton. He said the agreement, signed in parallel with the Atlantic Future Forum, opens the way to an initial £90 million investment. According to the minister, that money will allow Atlantic Net to begin operating next year, the first of the new Atlantic Bastion capabilities.
He described Atlantic Net as an AI-powered network of sensors, sonar and autonomous platforms covering the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap. Its purpose, he said, is to show Royal Navy warships and submarines what threats lie beneath the waves and to help guard the seabed infrastructure behind North Atlantic communications and energy links.
Pollard said the team working on the project combines industry, the Navy and Commercial X, which he described as a new unit set up to tackle outdated rules and bad habits in maritime acquisition. He also said the government now treats industry as a strategic partner rather than only a supplier. In his account, Atlantic Net will go from rough concept to working service within two years, roughly half the normal timeline, with British small and medium-sized companies delivering most of its platforms and systems.
Counter-drone radar for the K3 fleet
The minister said Saab UK has been contracted to fit its new lightweight counter-drone radar systems to the K3 fleet, which he said would give added protection to naval assets, ports and critical infrastructure. He cited the uncrewed Kraken K3 Scout boats, which he said carry out lengthy coastal patrols around the UK without putting sailors at risk, as an early working example of the hybrid navy idea.
Cooperation with allies
Pollard said members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) use Nordic Warden to follow possible undersea threats and keep watch on the Russian shadow fleet. He noted that Norway is acquiring five Type 26 frigates, which together with the Royal Navy's eight will form a combined anti-submarine warfare fleet.
He said the goal should be supply chains spanning the JEF, so that a British frigate could be repaired for Estonia or a Dutch warship resupplied in Norway, making forces interchangeable as well as interoperable. He ended by asking delegates which peacetime rules no longer suit a period of contest, before opening the floor to questions.
