NATO allies have caught Russian submarines training to carry out undersea cable sabotage using a secret weapon that leaves no trace, Reuters has reported citing two Western officials.
This clandestine Russian operation was carried out by the highly secret GUGI, the Russian undersea warfare directorate, in Arctic waters near Norway's Svalbard territories.
Britain said it had tracked and deterred three Russian submarines on an alleged month-long "covert operation" near vital undersea cables and pipelines connecting the Norwegian archipelago.
Following Euronews reporting on the operation that was announced in April, the discovery of the weapon, the location of the operation, and the US involvement have now been disclosed.
This joint operation between the UK, Norway, and the US successfully tracked and diverted Russian vessels before they could complete their exercise.
While Russia didn't damage any cables, it carried out this exercise to simulate the deployment of the secret weapon, in the event of a conflict with NATO, officials told Reuters.
They refused to give any details over the weapon or technology used by Russia.
While the confrontations were taking place at sea, UK and Norway officials faced Moscow with their findings in an attempt to deter Russia of using the secret technology.
Undersea fiber-optic cables that are as thick as a garden hose are the main conduit by which almost all of the world's internet traffic is channeled.
They are critical to global internet connectivity and financial transactions, which have increasingly made them targets for disruption of countries' communications.