Russia used deep-sea mini-submarines to simulate the deployment of a secret weapon designed to destroy vital undersea cables without leaving a trace, two officials with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The Russian ships were confronted in a coordinated effort with Norway, the UK and the US. The exercise was stopped and the Russian ships eventually left the area.
This spring, Britain and Norway announced that they had thwarted a covert Russian operation suspected of “hostile activity.” At the time, it was not clear whether a new weapon had been discovered in connection with the confrontation, where the operation took place, or that the United States was involved.
