This move comes as China becomes more aggressive towards Taiwan, pledging to reunify the island by force if necessary. The U.S. has maintained a position of "strategic ambiguity" on the issue. The modernization effort has been confirmed by three individuals with direct knowledge of the effort, and further corroborated by a review of hundreds of Navy contracts linked to the surveillance mission.
Key takeaways:
- The U.S. Navy is investing billions of dollars to modernize its Cold War-era submarine detection system in the Pacific Ocean in response to China's growing naval capabilities.
- The modernization efforts include making surveillance cables smaller and covering a larger area, implementing AI for reviewing surveillance data, and using fleets of unmanned drones for patrol.
- The U.S. has been selling the same tech to Australia and has signed at least 30 deals related to the surveillance mission in the last three years with defense giants and startups.
- The ramp-up of facilities and capabilities is focused on China's increased aggression towards Taiwan, with the U.S. maintaining a position of 'strategic ambiguity'.