A new arms race is unfolding on the ocean floor

Companies and governments are increasingly waking up to the fact that the future of warfare isn't just in the skies, but also on the ocean floor. Nations and corporations alike are devoting attention as well as piles of cash to new technologies designed for underwater use, as concerns grow about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure like connectivity cables and energy pipelines traversing the seabed.It comes amid growing concerns of so-called hybrid warfare, a broad term which can include cyberattacks, energy sabotage, disinformation, and economic pressure, with or without being accompanied by conventional military methods. "It's the changing threat environment that's brought this to the fore," Katja Bego, senior research fellow at Chatham House, told CNBC.At the same time, rapid advances in artificial intelligence, drones and autonomous technology are making new approaches to underwater surveillance possible, she said.From autonomous underwater vehicles to sensors attached to subsea cables, governments and military alliances are exploring ways to better monitor the infrastructure that underpins the global economy."Our whole economy is built on top of this," Bego said.'The n...