Naval warfare is coming. Military experts are convinced of it. Around sixty Russian submarines are currently operating across the seas, in an extremely tense geopolitical context. Ghost ships are regularly spotted, cables are cut, offshore wind farms are spied on… Never before in history has the seabed become such a strategic and contested space. How are France and European nations preparing for this new kind of war?
Could the hybrid war currently being waged by Russia on and under the sea lead to outright war? This is the great fear of coastal states, led by the Baltic countries. While war has been raging for three years on European soil in Ukraine, another, more discreet front has opened up under the water. Several thousand meters below the surface, stealth submarines, rare metal extractors, strategic pipelines, and digital spies cross paths. Provocations are on the rise: severed cables, electromagnetic jamming of GPS signals, aircraft illuminations, drone flights.
We gained exclusive access to the French army, filming aboard submarines, cable monitoring units and aircraft carriers, to show how France is preparing to respond. We follow ghost ships, join marine patrols and speak to the main players in this conflict, who saw the war begin and who are leading it today.
We profile a war. A war without official declaration, but one of increasing intensity. A hybrid war, where espionage, sabotage, and disinformation intertwine.