Britain's Bond-style ‘Q' boffins unveil underwater drone to take on Putin's cable-cutters…by blowing them to smithereens
BRITAIN'S top defence brainboxes have unveiled a Bond-style underwater drone designed to stop Putin's cable-cutting saboteurs in their tracks.
The super sub can hunt out and destroy sabotage threats lurking on the seabed - by blowing them to smithereens.
5
The underwater drone can prevent adversaries from sabotaging undersea cables and pipelines by disarming or removing threats
Credit: UK Gov
5
The high-tech robot has already been trialled Portsmouth's Horsea Island, Portland Harbour, South Wales and Norway
Credit: UK Gov
5
The sub targets any potential saboteurs by blowing them to smithereens
Credit: UK GOV
Developed by the MoD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), it is armed and ready to protect the UK's vital undersea cables and pipelines.
Using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), Dstl's boffins have added cutting-edge sensors, cameras, and explosive systems to high-tech underwater robot.
That way, operators are able to spot unexploded bombs, place charges remotely, and safely neutralise the threat — without risking Royal Navy divers.
John, a Dstl explosives engineer, said: 'This technology would be a valuable toolset for keeping our Armed Forces safe whilst providing the public with value for money.
'This unique capability with its sensors, tools and cameras will give operators a real time ability to deal with these underwater hazards in a safe, effective and efficient way.'
The underwater drone goes deeper than any diver can, staying down for far longer and working tirelessly.
It can be launched from a ship or even a shoreline, sending back sonar and video feeds to operators who remain at a safe distance while disarming explosives or fending off hostile actions.
Crucially, it's reusable. Once a threat is neutralised, the drone sub lives to dive another day - cutting costs while keeping seas safe.
The project is also a win for British industry, supporting specialist jobs through partnerships with firms like Alford Technologies, Atlantas Marine, Sonardyne and ECS Special Projects.
Trials have already taken place in Portsmouth's Horsea Island, Portland Harbour, South Wales and as far afield as Norway.
Putin humiliated as Russian war facility EXPLODES in Ukrainian drone strike
The Royal Navy is now developing tactics and techniques to make full use of the new tech.
The Ministry of Defence hailed the innovation on social media, calling it a leap forward in protecting sailors and vital undersea cables.
The new underwater drone arrives amid warnings about Russian undersea activity in UK waters.
In April, it was revealed that Kremlin spy sensors had been found close to British territory — believed to be tracking the Royal Navy's nuclear submarines.
The sensors, reportedly deployed using Russian oligarchs' luxury yachts, were discovered washed ashore and picked up by Navy minehunter ships.
Officials fear the covert operation could be part of a wider 'greyzone' campaign to gather intelligence and target undersea infrastructure.
Royal Navy and RAF assets were scrambled last November when the suspected Russian spy ship Yantar was seen 'lurking around pipelines and internet cables' in the Irish Sea.
Around the same time, RAF fighter jets intercepted a Russian warplane over the North Sea, and unmanned Russian underwater vehicles were also detected near communication cables.
5
The Minehunter HMS Cattistock (R) shadowing Admiral Vladimirsky through the English Channel
Credit: SWNS
5
One senior source told The Sunday Times: 'It's a bit like the space race. This is a world clouded in secrecy and subterfuge… but there's enough smoke to suggest something is on fire somewhere.'
In March, HMS Cattistock and a Wildcat helicopter were sent to monitor the Admiral Vladimirskiy, a so-called research ship revealed in 2023 to be a spy vessel suspected of probing Britain's power supply and internet links.
HMS Somerset and other Royal Navy units were also deployed multiple times to escort Russian vessels including a beach landing ship returning from the Mediterranean.
At least 11 internet cables in the Baltic Sea have been damaged in the past 15 months — some suspected to have been dragged by Russian ships — while surface vessels like the Admiral Vladimirskiy have continued probing waters near the UK.
In response, military chiefs are drawing up Operation Atlantic Bastion — a sweeping new patrol mission using air, land and sea forces to defend UK and Nato interests in the North Atlantic.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Tensions in Middle East ramp up as B-2 stealth bombers leave US for possible strike on Iranian targets
British and US warjets have previously helped shoot down Iranian missiles fired at Israel BOMBER THREAT Tensions in Middle East ramp up as B-2 stealth bombers leave US for possible strike on Iranian targets TENSIONS in the Middle East ramped up further yesterday as B-2 stealth bombers left the US for a possible strike on Iran. US president Donald Trump is believed to have signed off on a hit on the rogue state's underground atomic plant at Fordow. Advertisement 4 Middle East tensions rise as B-2 stealth bombers left the US for a possible strike on Iran Credit: Alamy 4 Missiles fired from Iran in retaliation for Israeli attacks Credit: Getty It came after a British national suspected of spying for Iran was arrested near an RAF base on Cyprus. Trump, who said on Thursday he would decide whether to join the offensive 'within two weeks', yesterday gave Israel free rein to continue attacking its enemy Iran. Meanwhile, B-2 bombers took off from the US and were thought to be heading to the Andersen Air Force Base on the Pacific island of Guam. The powerful B-2 Spirit is the only aircraft capable of delivering the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs needed to smash Iran's atomic site at Fordow, south of Tehran. Advertisement READ MORE ON IRAN IRON WILL Israel will keep bombing Iran even without Trump, says Netanyahu's ex-advisor Waves of attacks would be needed to destroy the plant, which is encased in steel under a mountain. Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is also said to be sheltering in a bunker as Israel targets military leaders and nuclear facilities in his country. US officials last night said no orders had yet been given to move the B-2s beyond Guam. But it ramped up more pressure on Khamenei to cut a deal — with Trump demanding Iran scrap its nuclear and ballistic missile plans. Advertisement Meanwhile, a suspected spy linked to Iran was arrested amid fears he was spearheading a massive attack on UK forces in Cyprus. Sources said he was posing as a British tourist when he was detained near the RAF's Akrotiri base with a large camera with telephoto lenses. US deploys bunker-buster bomb carrying B-2 planes to new military base as Iran tensions grow He was also found to have three mobile phones when armed officers swooped on Friday. Police sources confirmed yesterday he was being held on suspicion of terror-related offences and espionage. Advertisement He is suspected to have links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Police swooped on him in the Zakaki suburb of Limassol. He has been in the country since April and is feared to have been mapping troops and jets. The Foreign Office confirmed he was a British national who is understood to be of Azerbaijani descent. Advertisement 4 The apparent remains of a ballistic missile lying on the ground in northern Israel Credit: Reuters Akrotiri — where hundreds of British pilots, troops and back-up staff are based — is just 200 miles from Israel and well within range of Iran's ballistic missile arsenal. Britain and the US have been warned by Khamenei that their bases will be hit if their forces join Israel. The suspect appeared before the Limassol District Court on Friday and was remanded in custody for eight days pending inquiries. Advertisement Cypriot sources said he was understood to have had the sprawling UK airbase 'under surveillance' and also watched Cyprus's own Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos. Israel's foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar yesterday also claimed Iran tried to carry out an attack on Israeli citizens in Cyprus. Extra £3k in Persian MI5 jobs By Dominik Lemanski SPYMASTERS are offering £3,000 bonuses to recruit Persian speakers to tackle Iranian terror. Persian Language Specialists at MI5 and MI6 will support investigations to block Tehran-backed assassins and kidnappers. Recruits will be paid up to £44,818 with £3,000 a year extra on qualification. An advert, which is also hiring for GCHQ, reads: 'We're looking for Persian linguists for a role that goes well beyond translation and transcription. 'You will be a significant asset in helping to safeguard the UK.' In April last year, Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati, 37, was stabbed in South West London, in an attack believed to have been ordered by Tehran. It was not known if it was linked to the Brit's arrest. Cyprus has become a transit point for stranded travellers since Israeli airspace was shut at the start of Operation Rising Lion nine days ago. Advertisement Britain has upped the number of RAF Typhoons at Akrotiri and sent extra Voyager air-to-air refuellers. British and US warjets have previously helped shoot down Iranian missiles fired at Israel. But Sir Keir Starmer's government has so far kept the RAF out of the war amid fears of further escalation. Meanwhile, Israel continued to hammer Iran with air attacks on military and atomic sites — as well as top brass and nuclear scientists. Advertisement Israel Defence Forces' biggest scalp yesterday was terror kingpin Saeed Izadi — the financial mastermind of the October 7 attacks which detonated the Middle East crisis. Izadi, head of the Palestinian Division of Iran's Quds Force, was killed in a strike on a 'safe house' in the Iranian city of Qom. The Israeli military's Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir said: 'Izadi was one of the key figures involved in planning and executing the October 7 massacre. The blood of thousands of Israelis is on his hands.' 4 Israel's biggest scalp yesterday was terror kingpin Saeed Izadi Credit: @IDF Advertisement The Israeli military later said it killed another commander of the Guards' overseas arm, Benham Shariyari, in western Tehran. He was said to be 'responsible for weapons transfers from the Iranian regime to its proxies across the Middle East'. An 11th nuclear scientist was also assassinated at a safe house located by Israeli intelligence. Iran's foreign minister said he will not negotiate while attacks continued. Advertisement But Trump hit back: 'It's very hard to make that request right now. Israel is doing well, in terms of war, and…Iran is doing less well.' But he added: 'We're ready, willing and able and we've been speaking to Iran.' Iran fired more missiles at Israel overnight which were intercepted amid reports of minimal damage.
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Russia hands its own dead soldiers to Ukraine in sick move during body swap as Vlad's best pal frees prisoners for Trump
Some of the dead bodies even carried Russian passports SICK VLAD Russia hands its own dead soldiers to Ukraine in sick move during body swap as Vlad's best pal frees prisoners for Trump Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RUSSIA handed over 20 bodies it claimed were Ukrainian defenders - but they were actually its own dead troops, says Zelensky. It comes as Russian ally Belarus freed its top jailed opposition leader and other political prisoners - after Trump's envoy met the ex-Soviet state's iron-fisted leader. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 20 'Ukrainian' bodies recently handed over by Russia have in fact been Russian, says Zelensky Credit: EPA 7 Some of the bodies even have Russian passports on them Credit: x/Volodymyr Zelenskyy 7 Russian prisoners of war on a bus in Belarus Credit: Getty Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed Russia's grim body-swap blunder on Saturday, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda. He said: "They (Russia) told us these were only Ukrainians and only service members. "But that's a lie, now documented. In some cases, these bodies even have Russian passports on them. "They can't even check who they're sending. We certainly want all of our warriors and the bodies of our heroes back. "But we definitely do not want Russians being handed over simply for the sake of quantity." Russia and Ukraine exchanged at least 1,200 prisoners of war over a week ago after the second round of direct talks in Istanbul. Meanwhile, Sergei Tikhanovsky, a prominent Belarusian opposition leader, was freed from jail along with 13 other political prisoners on Saturday. His release came after US special envoy Keith Kellogg met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in the country's capital, Minsk. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya - Tikhanovsky's wife and also a Belarusian opposition politician - publicly thanked Donald Trump, Kellogg and "all European allies" for securing her husband's release. Lukashenko's press secretary said the prisoners were freed at Trump's request. Vladimir Putin rages 'all of Ukraine is ours' as he threatens to seize key city while Kyiv slams tyrant as 'deranged' Tikhanovskaya wrote on X: "My husband … is free! It's hard to describe the joy in my heart." She added: "We're not done. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released." Five Belarusian nationals, along with Japanese, Polish and Swedish citizens, were also released, according to Tikhanovskaya's office. The Lithuanian foreign minister said on X that the 14 political prisoners were receiving care in Lithuania. Tikhanovsky was jailed for 18 years in 2021. 7 The moment Russian strikes shatter residential buildings in Kharkiv, injuring 13 including two children on June 5 Credit: East2West 7 Ukrainian soldiers fire a Grad multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions in Donetsk on June 3 Credit: AP 7 Russian soldiers fire drones in Lyman on April 24 Credit: Getty His wife ran in his place and claimed victory - but fled into exile with their kids the day after. Many Belarusians believe the 2020 election was rigged by Lukashenko's regime to keep him in power - a position he's held since 1994. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have fled their homeland since the brutal crackdown on opposition protests in 2020. Belarus has faced heavy Western sanctions for its brutal crackdown and backing Russia's war - including allowing Russian troops to use its land and hosting tactical nukes. Tens of thousands have been arrested in Belarus for political reasons over the past five years, says rights group Viasna. It comes as Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko signed a security agreement in December, finalising the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear arms in Belarus. The signing followed an amendment in Russia's nuclear doctrine, which for the first time placed Belarus under the Russian nuclear umbrella. It effectively gives Lukashenko control over the potential use of Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed to Belarus in response to aggression. Putin said in a televised remark: "I'm sure that the treaty will ensure the security of Russia and Belarus." After the two leaders signed the pact, Lukashenko asked Putin to deploy the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that Russia used for the first time last month against Ukraine.
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Scots traitor who lost eye fighting for Putin now pals with paedo US turncoat
The twisted pair enjoyed a meeting in their adopted homeland THE TRAITOR & THE PAEDO Scots traitor who lost eye fighting for Putin now pals with paedo US turncoat Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A SCOTS traitor who lost an eye fighting for Russia is now pals with a US fugitive wanted on paedo photos charges, we can reveal. Ross McElvenny, 26 — pictured for the first time with a patch — shook hands with disgraced American Air Force defector Wilmer Puello-Mota, 28. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Disgraced American Air Force defector Wilmer Puello-Mota Credit: AP 2 Ross McElvenny lost an eye fighting for Vladimir Putin in Ukraine The twisted pair, who signed up for Vladimir Putin's army after its bloody invasion of Ukraine, enjoyed a meeting in their adopted homeland. Next to the sickening social media snap, McElvenny gushed: 'I finally managed to meet Will Puello.' The half-blinded mercenary, from Newton Mearns, near Glasgow, is now a Russian citizen. And he has been travelling the country since leaving hospital after getting surgery on his left eye. Selfies he posted show him in the capital Moscow and also visiting Mamayev Kurgan, a huge memorial commemorating the savage Second World War Battle of Stalingrad, now called Volgograd. McElvenny, who also sustained serious shrapnel injuries after being shelled by Ukrainian forces, had previously shrugged off his plight, saying: 'St happens in conflict.' And the Kremlin squaddie, whose call sign is 'Whisky', insisted he had 'zero regrets'. The Rangers fan added: 'I came here to do what I could to support Russia. I love this country.' We told how McElvenny was hurt in a blast before being fitted with a 'fake eyeball inside what remained of my left eye'. He first hit the headlines last November after it emerged he had been injured while serving in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Scottish brewer fighting as mercenary for Putin in Russia Previously, he had studied IT at a college in Glasgow after attending Falkland House, a residential school for boys in Fife. We revealed he once had a work experience stint as a schoolboy with the Scottish Government at offices in Atlantic Quay, Glasgow. It was in a placement tailored for pupils with additional support needs. McElvenny told The Scottish Sun on Sunday: 'It was a s**y programme by a school I should have never been in the first place — so they could get some publicity.' He travelled to Russia on a tourist visa last August, then volunteered for Putin's 1099th Motorised Rifle Regiment. The renegade Scot is being probed by cops here and faces prosecution if he returns. We told in December how McElvenny had boasted of becoming 'a citizen of the Russian Federation' after a short ceremony. He called it: 'One of the happiest moments of my life.' His new chum Puello-Mota was in the US Air Force and Massachusetts International Guard before fleeing the sex rap and landing in Russia. The ex-city councillor in Holyoke, Massachusetts, was arrested in nearby Rhode Island in 2020 after cops found explicit images of an underage girl on his phone. He reportedly told officers he thought she was 22, and only later learned she was 17. Puello-Mota was later charged with forgery, counterfeiting and obstructing justice after claiming the seedy snaps were fake. He vanished in January last year, just two days before he was scheduled to answer the charges in a Rhode Island court. US authorities said he boarded a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul before disappearing. It is understood the fugitive, who used the call-sign 'Boston', has been fighting as a volunteer mercenary alongside Russian troops in the war with Ukraine. In April last year, footage from propaganda channels showed him signing a military contract. They have spun Puello-Mota's defection as a coup for the Moscow regime.
