NATO Tests ‘Unjammable, Undetectable’ Laser Comms at Sea—and It Worked

If you’ve ever been out at sea, you may be aware that getting a good signal on your phone is almost impossible. Instead, seafarers rely on radio-frequency-based systems to communicate with other ships—a method with many advantages but potential drawbacks for more discreet, sensitive missions.

But a new technology has developed AstroliteA Lithuanian space and defense tech company has proposed switching out radios for lasers, which the company calls a “safe, optical” tool for maritime operations. In an emailed press release, Astrolite said its installation and communication of Polaris, a laser-based system, was successfully conducted for REPMUS 2025, NATO’s largest annual naval exercise.

“We installed two Polaris terminals on different ships, which sailed through the relatively rough Baltic Sea that day, and were able to establish and maintain communication links between the ships with some rain,” explained Astrolite CEO Laurinus Massulis. release. Their customer, the Lithuanian Navy, is “very satisfied with the results,” he added.

Lasers at sea

According to Astrolite, Polaris A “small, gimbald free space optical (FSO) communications solution for large ships” weighing about 35 pounds (16 kilograms). Basically, one FSO device Converts the data into a binary format, which is then transmitted to the receiving end in the form of a light signal.

Using a simple remote control a Very simplified version This technology, which allows data to travel through “free space”, be it air, outer space or vacuum. This flexibility makes it potentially useful for a variety of applications.

In this case, Polaris achieved “a radio-silent, undetectable, and detectable communication link between ships,” reports DIANA, a NATO initiative to contract the private sector to provide technical solutions to security issues. Impressively, the terminals established a secure, private connection between the two ships at a 9-mile (15-kilometer) range, “exceeding their initial goals by 200%,” Diana said in a LinkedIn posts.

In addition, the terminals successfully processed gigabytes of data for “more than 10 simultaneous, real-time HD video streams, even in rain and fog, day and night,” according to Astrolite’s statement.

Lasers in space?

“With continued and increasing GPS jamming attacks in NATO territory, we needed to test [POLARIS] in real-life situations as soon as possible,” added Astrolite CTO Dalias Petroulionis in the same release. “The results of the exercise showed that our laser technology is a reliable and effective alternative to radio frequency-based communications—now is the time to scale up.”

With the success of Polaris, Astrolite hopes to expand the use of its terminals on ships first. It is also reviewing whether similar systems could work for research programs in harsh, cold environments like the Arctic.

But the company’s biggest goals seem to be in space. Throughout various media posts, it has mentioned its upcoming plans for ATLAS-2, an optical terminal that supports satellite communications in and out of Earth. The launch of the terminal is currently scheduled for early 2026.