Report: Russia Used Western Tech for Arctic Spy Submarines
23rd October 2025
Russia secretly acquired Western technology between 2013 and 2024 to build an underwater surveillance system in the Arctic designed to protect its nuclear submarine fleet, according to an investigation published Thursday by The Washington Post in collaboration with European news organizations.
According to financial records, court documents and Western security officials, Russia purchased sonars, underwater robots, and fiber-optic cables as well as research vessels and other sophisticated technology worth more than $50 million from companies including Norwegian defense giant Kongsberg, Japanese tech conglomerate NEC and U.S. sonar manufacturer EdgeTech to build a sensor surveillance system dubbed “Harmony.”
Purchases were also made from companies in Sweden, Italy, the United Kingdom and other NATO member countries.