Ireland enhances naval defence with new subsea monitoring capabilities

Defense News highlights that Ireland is significantly ramping up its subsea monitoring capabilities, a strategic move driven by its crucial geographic position on Europe's northwestern edge.  

Ireland is significantly enhancing its focus on subsea monitoring, an area of naval defence that has been relatively neglected but is crucial given the country's strategic position on Europe's northwestern edge.  

Earlier this summer, the Irish government released its updated Defense Policy Review, outlining the direction for national military forces in response to emerging security threats.   The review highlights that Ireland's security landscape is shifting dramatically, noting that the country's geographic location and stance of military neutrality no longer provide sufficient protection against potential threats from hostile entities.   Maritime security is identified as a key priority in the review, which recommends investing in naval surveillance radar and sonar systems to monitor underwater activities around the island. The strategy involves integrating these systems with air and land monitoring capabilities, alongside acquiring a ground-based air defense system.

Dublin’s waters are a critical hub in a vast network of undersea cables that facilitate about 97 percent of global communications and internet traffic. According to public broadcaster RTE, approximately 75 per cent of all cables in the northern hemisphere either pass through or are located near Irish waters, primarily off the southwest coast.

Disruption or sabotage of these cables could have major impacts on the international economy and services.   The recent defense review emphasizes that the development of new capabilities will target subsea, littoral, and essential maritime infrastructure to bolster naval defense and utilize inshore patrol vessels acquired from New Zealand in 2022.  

Additionally, the Irish government is working on a new national maritime security strategy led by the Department of Defense, which is expected to detail Dublin’s subsea objectives.   To enhance its role in securing maritime communication lines, Ireland secured parliamentary approval in July to join the Italian-led Critical Seabed Infrastructure Protection project within the EU framework of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO).

Launched in May 2023, this initiative involves seven EU member states working together to advance their underwater surveillance technologies. Despite this significant step forward in expanding Ireland's subsea capabilities, the move has faced criticism from some lawmakers who see it as diverging from the country’s traditional stance of military neutrality.