Authors are encouraged to submit papers for UDT 2022 that advance the understanding of those engaged in the undersea defence and security community in its broadest sense. Papers that explore the conference theme will be particularly welcomed.
Who will be reviewing your submissions?
Meet the UDT committee and find out more about them.
If you have any queries about submitting a paper for consideration, please contact our team.
The Grey Zone: Undersea Technologies to Protect Maritime Trade, Operations & Infrastructure
In the post-Afghanistan and Iraq operational era, UDT 2022 offers an opportunity to explore another aspect of underwater defence and security that is of increasing importance to navies and governments worldwide: the grey zone.
An increasing number of ‘events’ have occurred in the space between political diplomacy and war. The grey zone’s complexity, ambiguity and importance has been widely recognised by military planners and governments. Populations, industries and wealth continue growing their dependence on sea lanes of communication, offshore industries, and seabed infrastructure. Given our ability to monitor much of the activity in space, on the earth’s surface and airspace, the undersea provides a significant opportunity for those wishing to conduct grey zone operations.
We have already witnessed grey zone type operations and, in most cases, they are well thought-out, use off the shelf technologies (drones etc) and are plausibly deniable at a governmental level. If planned and executed well, these attacks can avoid categorical attribution whilst also avoiding a substantial military reprisal, and yet can potentially contribute significantly to the long-term strategic goals of the aggressor. While clearly a navigational incident, the blocking of the Suez Canal serves to illustrate the vulnerability of our seaways.
The undersea already demands the most of our equipment, tactics and decision making. In grey zone operations the use of irregular forces, novel tactics, and equipment combine with complex oceanographic conditions to challenge conventional systems and our ability to control areas of the undersea. Being able to provide clear evidence and to accurately clarify events is key to winning in the grey zone.
New techniques using big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and others, potentially offer a greater tactical, political and operational advantage. Without developing existing systems and exploiting emerging relevant core technologies quickly, we could see that many ‘traditional’ techniques for detection, classification, tracking, and defence, that deliver success today may be unhelpful or obsolete in the near term. Without understanding the challenges and the multitude of new and promising technologies associated with grey zone operations, nations may find themselves at a substantial disadvantage and vulnerable.
Ahead of each conference, the UDT technical planning committee welcomes papers and panel proposal abstracts exploring these themes from military, civil, academia and government personnel.
Authors are required to identify which of the conference pillars their paper addresses. These are used to help the committee understand the authors' perspective in order to build a coherent agenda.
To submit a paper, you will need to provide the following information:
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