NATO warships can now transmit messages and intelligence briefings to each other without fear of jamming or detection by Russia. Electronic interference is a growing problem at sea, capable of distorting satellite navigation, confusing radar displays and cutting radio contact.
When that happens, crews often revert to less secure backup methods such as noisy radios or signal lamps, which increase a ship’s electromagnetic signature. Now Lithuanian defence-tech firm Astrolight has successfully trialled a ship-to-ship laser link during NATO’s largest unmanned maritime exercise.
The POLARIS system was tested during REPMUS ’25 between two Portuguese Navy vessels, which maintained a stable laser connection undetected by sensors, ships, or drones.
It transmitted gigabytes of data – including multiple HD video streams – through rain and fog, day and night.
Because of the Earth’s curvature, traditional visual methods such as lamps and flags have a range of only a few miles.
Polaris overcomes that limitation by using high-altitude drones to rebroadcast the lasers, greatly extending range at sea.
Astrolight CEO Laurynas Mačiulis said the idea was born after the Lithuanian Navy requested a system that could operate during radio silence.
“Anyone who’s used a laser pointer knows how narrow the beam is,” he said.
“Now imagine information travelling through that beam – from audio and video calls to reconnaissance data. As long as you can point it at the other ship, nobody outside the beam can intercept or block it.”
Mačiulis confirmed the Royal Navy is now in talks to adopt the Polaris system following its successful NATO trials.
Maritime defence expert Commander Tom Sharpe said: “A task group’s vessels are often very dispersed. “The Earth’s curvature limits lasers to just a few miles, but using high-flying drones to rebroadcast the signal across the fleet is truly transformative.”