British-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) has activated an advanced UK-led reaction system to track potential threats to undersea infrastructure and monitor the Russian shadow fleet, following reported damage to a major undersea cable in the Baltic Sea.

JEF is a coalition of 10 northern European countries, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden and the UK, that primarily cooperate for increased security in the Baltic Sea region, the North Atlantic and the area north of the Arctic Circle.

The operation, activated last week and named Nordic Warden, harnesses AI to assess data from a range of sources, including the Automatic Identification System (AIS) ships use to broadcast their position, to calculate the risk posed by each vessel entering areas of interest.

Specific vessels identified as being part of Russia’s shadow fleet have been registered into the system so they can be closely monitored when approaching key areas of interest.

If a potential risk is assessed, the system will monitor the suspicious vessel in real time and immediately send out a warning, which will be shared with JEF participant nations as well as NATO Allies.

UK’s prime minister Keir Starmer said this move comes following reported damage on Christmas Day to the Estlink2 undersea cable in the Baltic, which authorities in Finland suggest that may have been caused by a tanker.

“Harnessing the power of AI, this UK-led system is a major innovation which allows us the unprecedented ability to monitor large areas of the sea with a comparatively small number of resources, helping us stay secure at home and strong abroad,” added UK’s defence secretary John Healey MP.

22 areas of interest – including parts of the English Channel, North Sea, Kattegat, and Baltic Sea, are currently being monitored from the JEF’s operational headquarters in Northwood, where personnel from all JEF nations work side by side.

Commenting on the reported Estlink2 damage, the joint statement from the JEF members said: “This is another example of maritime incidents causing direct economic and security implications for Finland and Estonia, highlighting the risks to vital communication and energy networks essential for the security and prosperity of all our nations.

“The JEF commends Finland and Estonia for their decisive actions in dealing with the Estlink-2 power cable incident.”