DARPA’s TUNA program develops fiber optical undersea communication Network for backup in contested environment

The capability of Russia and China to disrupt American military wireless and satellite communications using electronic warfare has been rising.  This is athreat to US Navy operations that require connectivity among a diverse set of platforms, including submarines, surface ships, aircraft, and shore sites. The links among these platforms support a wide range of applications, including command and control, battle management, the dissemination of common operational and tactical pictures, sensor-data dissemination, the tracking and engagement of time-sensitive and other targets, and many other C4ISR functions.