The Joint Expeditionary Force is developing operational concepts to protect undersea cables and pipelines in the Atlantic and North Sea, Lord Coaker confirmed in a parliamentary answer on 24 April, describing the work as complementary to NATO and a priority given the vital role of such infrastructure in national security, economic stability and communications.
Asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering what plans exist for the JEF to secure the safe operation of undersea cables and pipelines, Coaker said the ten-nation force was “developing and refining operational concepts that include maritime domain awareness, intelligence sharing, and rapid deployment capabilities to deter and respond to threats against these assets.”
Coaker also confirmed that following reported damage to a major undersea cable in the Baltic Sea in January 2025, the JEF activated an advanced UK-led reaction system known as Nordic Warden to track potential threats to undersea infrastructure and monitor the Russian shadow fleet, adding that the system was “subsequently handed over to NATO under their Baltic Sentry initiative.”
Coaker said the government “remains committed to enhancing the JEF’s capabilities to meet emerging challenges in its area of interest, including the protection of undersea infrastructure in the Atlantic and North Sea”, noting that while “the JEF is not solely dedicated to undersea cable and pipeline security, it forms a component of the UK’s broader strategy to safeguard these essential assets through multinational cooperation, rapid response, and integrated maritime security operations in support of NATO.”
The JEF comprises the UK alongside Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, and is positioned as a rapid-response force across the northern European region, operating in support of but separately from NATO’s command structure, with the Atlantic Bastion programme running in parallel as the UK’s dedicated domestic effort to counter Russian undersea activity.
We really need to double down on JEF as an alternative to NATO and expand it. Poland, Canada and Germany should all be brought back in. JEF can offer a UK lead alternative to NATO in instances where NATO ( the USA) can’t or won’t respond to an Article 5 event. Unlinked NATO, JEF doesn’t require a unanimous consent and two members can initiate action as part of the framework.
JEF also has the advantage of being in place already alongside NATO so there is little or anything that Americans can say about its expansion.
The UK should use an expanded JEF to enable deployment of a UK sub strategic/tactical nuclear capability. The UK can develop a nuclear cruise missile based on storm shadow and enable dual sharing with Poland, Germany and Sweden. These countries have indicted a willingness to participate and pay for such a system already.
Further more we are already developing an intermediate range ballistic missile in concert with France and Germany which France appears to be preparing to use to carry a hypersonic nuclear warhead. We should develop a similar sub strategic nuclear weapon that can also be shared with Allie’s including even Canada if they want it. Then we can have a fully capable nuclear triad and we can leave our Trident submarines to provide a massive secondary strike capability only with land and air based systems provide the rest of our deterrent able to escalate to any level, against Russia without US participation.