The UK Navy is to use artificial intelligence to detect hostile state activity in the Arctic, amid the increasing threat from Russia in the region.
The area is a key flank of European and Britain’s security, while the Kremlin’s operations there aid it war in Ukraine and threaten critical infrastructure like undersea cables to the UK, ministers warn.
On a visit to Iceland, the Foreign Secretary David Lammy will announce a new joint scheme between the two countries to use cutting edge AI technology to monitor the activity of state actors.
Mr Lammy said: “It’s more important than ever that we work with our allies in the High North, like Norway and Iceland, to enhance our ability to patrol and protect these waters,”
The problem is growing as rising temperatures lead ice caps to melt, opening up previously inaccessible routes.
Areas close to the Arctic are being used by Russia’s nuclear-powered icebreakers, clearing paths for tankers helping fund his illegal war in Ukraine.
These are Russia’s “shadow fleet” of ships which transport oil and gas or stolen Ukrainian grain, to get around Western sanctions.
The foreign secretary will also reveal that the UK has halted Putin’s plans to have a floating repair dock in the Arctic, to service the icebreakers.
Under the new joint UK-Iceland strategy more than half a million pounds, £554,000, of UK funding from the UK Integrated Security Fund, for the Alan Turing Institute, will examine how AI can improve monitoring.
The announcement comes after Donald Trump hit out at Putin, calling the Russian leader “absolutely crazy” for firing hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight.
French president Emmanuel Macron said he hopes Trump’s latest remarks would “translate into action”, while Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky called for the US to slap additional sanctions on Moscow instead of continuing talks.
