Since the end of the Cold War, NATO’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities have significantly atrophied due to reduced investment and shifting priorities. However, a surge in Russian submarine patrols—particularly advanced Borei- and Yasen-class vessels—near NATO borders and in strategic maritime regions like the Baltic Sea, Arctic, North Atlantic, and Mediterranean has alarmed European allies.

This escalation, coupled with Russia’s joint naval exercises with China and suspected threats to undersea infrastructure, is driving nations like Germany to urgently modernize their ASW fleets to counter the Russian Navy’s growing underwater prowess.

Germany is now investing in advanced maritime reconnaissance aircraft to join the UK and other NATO members in tracking Russian submarines in the North Atlantic.

The Russian Army and Air Force might have taken a beating during the Ukraine war, but its submarine fleet has been steadily gaining strength. The Russian submarines have increased maritime patrols and have been conducting multinational anti-submarine exercises in collaboration with the PLA-Navy.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius recently flew aboard the Royal Air Force’s maritime reconnaissance aircraft, the Boeing P-8A Poseidon. The aircraft took off from Lossiemouth, northeast Scotland. They flew over the Atlantic Ocean to demonstrate the anti-submarine warfare capabilities of its highly sensitive radar and sonar equipment to the German Defense Minister.

During the two-hour flight, Pistorius was shown how the aircraft painted the Russian submarines and ships with ease.

Submarines are permitted to dive in international waters during peacetime, but since they do not have transponders on board, locating them is difficult.

The German defense minister was quoted by German media as saying: “We went down quite low, around 300 meters, and could see the ships rocking on the waves.”

The aircraft was flown by a German pilot. During the flight, the German Defense Minister’s plane did not encounter any Russian submarines, but he was shown how the aircraft deploys sonobuoys. The sonobuoys equipped with acoustic sensors form a network of listening devices to detect submarines underwater. Also on board was British Defense Secretary John Healey.

The German Navy is set to receive eight Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance and counter-submarine aircraft. It was handed over its first Poseidon in October at the manufacturer’s Seattle, Washington, production plant.

The P-8-A Poseidons were ordered in 2021 and will replace its ageing fleet of P-3C Orion aircraft. The first order was for 5 aircraft at the cost of USD 1.29 billion.

Berlin ordered three more of these aircraft after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The German Navy has indicated it will purchase four more of these aircraft, bringing the total to 12.

The P-8s are going to be the mainstay of the German Navy’s maritime surveillance capability for the next decade before the arrival of the new German-French Maritime Airborne Warfare System (MAWS) by 2035.

The aircraft will be part of the Marinefliegergeschwader 3 (naval aviation squadron) located in the northwest of Germany, along the country’s North Sea coast.

The aircraft can increase its range through air-to-air refuelling and conduct surveillance over a large swathe of ocean. Direct data communication systems enable real-time data transmission from the aircraft to the Bundeswehr’s situation centers. The communication and navigation processes are automated, allowing the crew to give their full attention to tracking the adversary’s submarines.

The P-8s can fly as high as 41,000 feet, and have a short transit time, which reduces the size of the “Area of Probability when searching for submarines, surface vessels, or search and rescue survivors. It is also used for low-altitude humanitarian and search-and-rescue missions.

The P-8 Poseidon acquired by Germany will be equipped with the advanced AN/AAQ-24(V) DIRCM (Directional InfraRed CounterMeasure) self-protection system on the rear, which will allow it to counter enemy infrared-guided missile attacks.

The German aircraft will also be fitted with sonobuoy launchers, Mark 84 depth charges, and Mark 54 torpedoes in their internal compartments. In addition, the aircraft can carry AGM-84 Harpoon missiles under its wings, as well as the AN/ALQ-240(V)1 electronic warfare system.

The militaries of Germany’s fellow NATO countries – the British Royal Air Force, the Norwegian Navy, and the US Navy are already operating this platform. The addition of this aircraft to the German Navy will not only bolster the European country’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities but will also increase interoperability within NATO.

This addition would help NATO countries collectively monitor the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea from air bases in Lossiemouth, Keflavik, Iceland, and Nordholz, Germany.

Other NATO allies, the US, the UK, and Australia, have signed a P-8 Sonobuoy data-sharing agreement. Sonobuoy information is highly sensitive, and even Five Eyes partners don’t share it. The data reveals the country’s ability to gather the information and the area where these buoys are deployed. It is a clear map of what the country is tracking and where.

Following the joint sortie in the P-8A, Germany and the UK announced that they would jointly monitor the Russian submarines from the British base at Lossiemouth.

“Together we’re strengthening NATO, boosting our cyber defenses, and ensuring our armed forces can operate side by side with ease — from patrolling the skies over Scotland to hunting Russian subs in the North Atlantic,” Healey said in a statement after the flight. “This partnership is a cornerstone of European security.”

American P-8s are currently based in Iceland. However, the European countries are concerned that the US might withdraw them, forcing them to defend themselves. “NATO must become more European to remain trans-Atlantic,” Pistorius said in Lossiemouth. “That is our message to both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, but in different directions.”

Threats Of Lurking Russian Submarines

The size of the Russian Navy’s submarine fleet is 58 submarines, making it a formidable underwater adversary. Out of this, 11 are ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), 17 are nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), 9 are nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines (SSGNs), and 21 are diesel-electric attack submarines (SSKs).

These submarines operate throughout Russia’s naval bases, including the North, Black, Baltic, and Pacific fleets. The Borei-Class and Delta III/IV-Class submarines pose a genuine strategic threat to NATO allies. In recent times, the movement of Russian nuclear-powered submarines has increased significantly.

Recently, Russian Secrets, a cross-border investigation, revealed that Russia has been secretly sourcing high-tech equipment from European, American, and Asian companies to protect its nuclear submarine fleet in the Arctic.

For about a decade, numerous defense companies and maritime suppliers sold sonars, underwater robots, fibre-optic cables, research vessels, and other sophisticated technology worth more than $50 million to a Cypriot entity secretly linked to a Russian defense contractor, the investigation found.

Apart from submarines, the shadow fleet of the Russian Navy — including freighters, tankers, and fishing boats — has posed a threat to Europe’s undersea cable infrastructure. After the flight, the German defense minister noted that the surveillance network will help prevent potential sabotage of subsea infrastructure.

“It’s also about critical infrastructure, about detecting suspicious vessels,” Pistorius was quoted by Deutsche Welle. “I was able to see very impressively on board today how high the resolution and quality are. In that respect, this is not just a nice-to-have; it means greater security for our own country and the (NATO) alliance’s territory.”