Britain "on its knees": Will it resort to a World War I-era method?

Jenkins said that the United Kingdom is facing security threats not seen since the Cold War and must increase its readiness to engage in armed conflicts, GB News reported.

He also called for the development of a larger and more capable “hybrid navy” that would make greater use of unmanned systems.

Speaking at a conference on maritime research, Jenkins said that Russia is “examining, testing and mapping” the seabed, while the British Navy is increasingly spending time and resources monitoring Russian vessels, including the so-called “shadow fleet.”

“Critical undersea infrastructure is now part of the strategic environment,” Jenkins said, recalling that at the beginning of World War I, the Allies cut German transatlantic telegraph cables.

He said he hoped this would not happen again, but if Britain were to find itself at war again, he said, its adversaries would attempt to use the same approach against the UK.

Jenkins stressed that Russia currently poses the greatest security threat to the United Kingdom, particularly in the maritime domain, the North Atlantic and the Arctic region.

He said that Russia possesses advanced submarines and specialized systems for deep-sea operations, making them increasingly difficult to track.

The British Navy deploys an average of two warships each week to monitor Russian vessels and the so-called “shadow fleet,” the newspaper reported.

His warnings came several days after reports emerged that British authorities had earlier this year thwarted an alleged Russian military operation aimed at disabling key undersea cables, the newspaper added.

According to those reports, NATO allies detected Russian submarines operating on a covert system near Svalbard, the Norwegian Arctic archipelago.

The British Navy has received at least £1.3 billion to develop the concept of a “hybrid navy,” including the use of unmanned aircraft capable of conducting attacks from the sea.

The British government previously announced plans to build up to 12 new nuclear-powered attack submarines, but a decision on the exact number has been delayed.

The Ministry of Defence said that the commitment to build up to 12 submarines remains unchanged and that the delay in making the decision will not affect the planned delivery schedule.