Royal Navy Tests Seabed Defence Technology with AUKUS Allies in Exercise Lanternfish
The Royal Navy, alongside US and Australian forces, conducted Exercise Lanternfish, a six-week trial of uncrewed underwater systems to protect critical seabed infrastructure. The exercise, held in Virginia, Washington, and waters off southwestern Australia, was part of the AUKUS Pillar 2 agreement focusing on advanced military capabilities. Royal Navy divers and hydrographic experts used systems like the VideoRay Defender and Teledyne Gavia autonomous underwater vehicle to survey infrastructure and rehearse responses to hostile activity. The exercise aimed to improve detection, monitoring, and threat response through shared expertise and common operating procedures. Officials highlighted interoperability and rapid capability iteration. The Royal Navy linked the exercise to rising threats from foreign state actors, citing Russian submarine operations near UK waters. Planning for the next AUKUS Pillar 2 exercise, covering maritime, air, cyber, and space domains, is already underway.
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