Russian submarine adopted spy ship into British waters because it mapped fuel pipeline | EUROtoday

A Russian submarine was deployed alongside a spy ship to map vital undersea infrastructure round Britain, it has emerged.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has declassified a photograph of the incident, which noticed a submarine shadowing the Liberateformally described as a Russian analysis ship, because it reportedly surveyed the fuel pipeline linking Britain and Ireland. It was not clear whether or not the escort was one in every of Russia’s personal purpose-built sabotage submarines.

An anti-submarine Merlin Mk2 helicopter could possibly be seen from the picture monitoring the Liberate within the Irish Sea from November final yr; a British submarine additionally emerged from the floor close by.

It is believed to be one in every of a number of operations the place Russian submarines have accompanied the Yantar into waters near the British Isles, in keeping with The Sunday Times.

First sea lord common Sir Gwyn Jenkins mentioned earlier this month that there had been a “30 per cent increase in Russian incursion in our waters” simply during the last two years.

The exercise is most visibly seen within the presence of spy ships just like the Liberate working close to UK waters, he mentioned, however warned: “It’s what’s going on under the waves that most concerns me.”

Just final week, Sir Gwyn warned that Russia was renewing its funding in its elite deep-sea submarine division, referred to as Gugi. The UK sanctioned the Russian navy company, which is main the event of Russia’s underwater intelligence gathering operations, in June this yr.

An MoD spokesperson mentioned: “As the defence secretary has said, our message to President Putin is clear: we see you, we know what you are doing, and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country.

“We are acutely aware of the threat posed by Russia, which includes attempts to map undersea cables, networks, and pipelines belonging to both the UK and our allies, and we are tackling these threats head on.

“That is why the prime minister set out the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, including a commitment to increase spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP from April 2027, and an ambition to spend 3 per cent of GDP in the next parliament, as economic and fiscal conditions allow.

“In addition, we have introduced 900 new sanctions against individuals, entities and ships under the Russian regime, and accelerated the development and deployment of advanced anti-submarine technology.”

The authorities believes its Atlantic Bastion programme, which is integrating autonomous vessels, AI-enabled sensors, warships, and plane to safeguard vital undersea infrastructure towards evolving challenges, will assist to safe the North Atlantic for the UK and Nato to counter the specter of Russia’s evolving submarine pressure.