Securing the Underwater Battlespace: A Strategic Imperative in Modern Warfare technology

At Forcys, we understand that control of the underwater battlespace depends on more than what can be seen or heard—it depends on what can be shared securely. In today’s contested maritime domain, secure, reliable underwater communication is no longer optional. It’s essential to operational success.

Unlike other military environments, the underwater domain doesn’t allow for traditional radio communications. Instead, acoustic signals, which are vulnerable to range, delay and distortion, remain the only viable method for transmitting data below the surface. Add in the complexity of real-world oceanographic conditions—such as thermoclines and salinity layers—and the challenge becomes even greater.

Despite these limitations, the underwater battlespace is becoming increasingly strategic, particularly as geopolitical tensions rise and the seabed becomes a focal point for both defence and infrastructure security. Without robust encryption and assured communication protocols, adversaries can intercept transmissions and compromise both missions and lives. The threat is real: intercepted signals could reveal the position of a submarine or disrupt command of an autonomous underwater vehicle.

This is where integrated, adaptive networks come into play. By deploying a mesh of underwater communication nodes, Forcys and our technology partners at Acousonix and Sonardyne enable navies to maintain tactical advantage while minimising the risk of detection.

As autonomous systems such as AUVs and UUVs take on more complex roles in surveillance, mine countermeasures, and infrastructure protection, the demand for encrypted, fail-safe communication increases. These platforms operate at the edge of the battlespace and require secure, low-latency updates to perform effectively.

The ability to push edge-processed data and raw sensor information across a secure network enables real-time decision-making. This is how situational awareness becomes decision superiority. Through intelligent prioritisation of data based on latency requirements, a persistent sensor network can cue additional assets onto a contact, protect high-value units, or shift strategy on the fly. This is the difference between reacting and winning.

Beyond traditional military operations, the same need for secure underwater communication applies to defending critical underwater infrastructure (CUI), conducting mine warfare and countermeasures, and securing temporary high-profile events. Whether for short-range or long-distance operations, the principle remains: without secure communication, situational awareness breaks down.

Forcys and our partners have long been at the forefront of secure underwater communications. Software-defined modems developed within this ecosystem allow rapid switching between national and allied security protocols, ensuring interoperability across NATO and coalition forces. This is essential, as future conflicts will rarely be fought alone. Secure communication is not just about technology. It’s about trust. Trust in data, in systems, in the decisions being made at speed in the most demanding environments on earth.