{"id":630465,"date":"2025-12-13T16:56:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T16:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/630465\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T16:56:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T16:56:22","slug":"the-russian-threat-from-the-sea-is-growing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/630465\/","title":{"rendered":"The Russian threat from the sea is growing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe Russian Navy maintains one of the most formidable submarine fleets in the world. Britain must step up or risk losing its advantage in the North Atlantic\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

Britain needs to urgently upgrade its defence capability including investing in anti-submarine warfare in the face of increasing Russian aggression in the North Atlantic, senior military figures and naval experts have said.<\/p>\n

The head of Nato<\/a>, Mark Rutte, said this week that Britain and other allies were Russia\u2019s next target\u201d<\/a> and that we must prepare for a \u201cscale of war our parents and great-grandparents endured\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cIt is a terrible thought, but if we deliver on our commitments, this is a tragedy we can prevent.\u201d<\/p>\n

General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, the First Sea Lord and head of the Royal Navy, outlined plans this week for a new hybrid naval force<\/a>, using AI and drones to counter the Russian threat.<\/p>\n

However, he warned that the advantage Britain had held in the Atlantic since the end of the Second World War was at risk as Russia<\/a> continues to invest billions in maritime capabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are holding on, but not by much,\u201d Jenkins told the International Sea Power Conference in London. \u201cThere is no room for complacency. Our would-be opponents are investing billions. We have to step up, or we will lose that advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HandoutThe Royal Navy shadowing a Russian submarine during a three-day operation in the English Channel (Photo: MoD Crown Copyright\/PA)<\/p>\n

Last month\u2019s Budget reaffirmed a rise in defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, but gave no indication of how this would be achieved.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, there has been a 30 per cent rise in Russian vessels encroaching on British waters in the past two years. <\/p>\n

Only this week, the Royal Navy<\/a> said it had tracked a Russian submarine, the Kilo-class Krasnodar, through the English Channel, while last month the Russian spy ship Yantar used lasers against RAF pilots tracking it. The Defence Secretary, John Healey, said he had changed the navy\u2019s rules of engagement so warships could track Russian vessels.<\/p>\n

Jenkins warned that while the Yantar was the most visible part of the Russian threat, it was only the tip of the iceberg. \u201cIt\u2019s not the bit that worries me the most. It\u2019s what\u2019s going on under the waves that most concerns me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Russian threat is formidable \u2013 and growing <\/p>\n

\u201cThe real threat is Russian submarines,\u201d said John Foreman CBE, a retired Royal Navy officer and former UK defence attach\u00e9 in Moscow.<\/p>\n

As an island, Britain relies on its vast network of undersea cables and pipelines for essential supplies including electricity, with 99 per cent of our digital communications coming via fibreoptic cables. Furthermore, nearly all of our imports, including gas, come across the sea. This leaves us hugely vulnerable to sabotage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the event of a war, Russian submarines<\/a> from its Northern Fleet\u2019s base near Murmansk would seek to dominate the seas around Britain, particularly the strategic chokepoint of the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) Gap \u2013 cutting off transatlantic supply routes in much the same way the German U-boats attempted to during the First and Second World Wars.<\/p>\n

Later, during the Cold War, the Gap became a front line in submarine warfare between Nato and the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

\"\"Russian submarines from its Northern Fleet\u2019s base near Murmansk would seek to dominate the seas<\/p>\n

Today, submarines are central to Russia\u2019s deterrence strategy and power projection.<\/p>\n

\u201cRussia realises it has good, technologically advanced platforms. Their nuclear subs are getting quieter and quieter so we\u2019ve got to think about how to interdict them,\u201d said Foreman.<\/p>\n

Some in the West may have lost sight of the strength of the Russian Navy given its performance in the Ukraine war, according to Emma Salisbury, an associate fellow at the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Black Sea Fleet has been significantly degraded by Ukraine, which has deployed drones to strike Russian naval targets.<\/p>\n

But \u201cthe performance of the Russian Navy against Ukraine is not indicative of the Russian Navy\u2019s potential performance against Nato,\u201d Salisbury said. The Russian Navy maintains one of the most formidable and varied submarine fleets in the world, she said.<\/p>\n

\"InThe Khabarovsk nuclear submarine at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk (Photo: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP)<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Northern Fleet has around 10 large surface ships, 22 submarines, including its strategic ballistic missile submarines \u2013 an essential part of Russia\u2019s nuclear triad and second-strike capability \u2013 as well as nuclear-powered attack submarines, which surveil and disrupt shipping. <\/p>\n

It also has more specialised submarines like the Belgorod, designed to deploy the Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedo-drones.<\/p>\n

How Britain is fighting back<\/p>\n

The UK Government has announced details of its Atlantic Bastion, a \u201cblueprint for the future of the Royal Navy\u201d, according to Healy. The plan envisions a hybrid naval force comprised of warships, aircraft, uncrewed boats and drones. A vast network of sensors across surface, subsurface and air will enhance anti-submarine warfare and protect undersea cables and pipelines.<\/p>\n

At the same time, new technologies will bolster the defence, include the SG-1 Fathom, an underwater glider, and Excalibur, the largest autonomous submarine ever trialled by the navy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose kind of uncrewed, especially surface vessels, are a lot quicker to produce, they are a lot cheaper, and you can get mass more easily because you can build a lot of them,\u201d said Salisbury. \u201cI think drones are the answer to filling in some of our capability gaps more quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"EMBARGOEDA life-size autonomous underwater glider called SG-1 Fathom at Portsmouth Naval Base (Photo: Peter Nicholls\/PA)<\/p>\n

Britain and Norway have also announced an extensive defence agreement under which they will operate an interchangeable fleet of British-built Type-26 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates. Britain has traditionally been a leader in ASW.<\/p>\n

Another crucial part of sea operations is the UK\u2019s P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, which can track and engage submarines via its sonar buoys, magnetic anomaly detectors and torpedoes. Some of these are based in Iceland, a key monitoring point for the GIUK Gap<\/p>\n

Britain is falling behind <\/p>\n

Britain is aiming to maintain its superiority in advanced submarines. It has committed \u00a36bn to modernise facilities to build the new Aukus attack submarines, according to the Ministry of Defence.<\/p>\n

However, senior military personnel have warned that it is far behind where it should be in terms of investment.<\/p>\n

Since the end of the Cold War, the UK, along with other European Nato allies, has slashed defence spending, resulting in a sharp fall in the numbers of maritime patrol aircraft, ASW frigates and submarines. <\/p>\n

Only this month, the Type 23 frigate HMS Lancaster retired, with no immediate replacement available. <\/p>\n

\"BESTThe Russian spy ship \u2018Yantar\u2019 has directed lasers at pilots of surveillance aircraft monitoring its activities on the edge of UK waters (Photo: Ministry of Defence\/ PA)<\/p>\n

One senior naval officer told the Sea Power Conference of Britain\u2019s \u201cdiminishing advantage\u201d in the North Atlantic, and highlighted challenges posed by the lack of investment in the Royal Navy. <\/p>\n

While upcoming Type 31 frigates would address some issues, he warned that Britain needed to increase the speed of delivery.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the lack of investment in the Navy over the last decade or so, we\u2019ve really seen a gap in capability,\u201d said Salisbury. \u201cWe\u2019re investing a lot in frigates and submarines but all of that is not going to actually be in service and useful for another four or five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foreman said that while Atlantic Bastion was a good plan, the question now was how we were going to fund it and utilise the money. \u201cWe\u2019re having to deal with years of underfunding\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think the tech is quite there yet to build the Bastion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"EMBARGOEDThe Royal Navy\u2019s experimental uncrewed underwater vehicle \u2018Excalibur\u2019 at Portsmouth Naval Base (Photo: Peter Nicholls\/PA)<\/p>\n

He added that uncrewed drones were insufficient for sensing Russian submarines. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bastion plan is very passive: the drones will go out and listen for submarines, but they are so quiet, and we need both active and passive, transmitting sonar and listening to nuclear subs, integrated,\u201d he said. \u201cHow do we get all this data into all these sensors, crewed and uncrewed, to find out where submarines are and deal with them?\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of Britain\u2019s push to remilitarise, it must also increase investment in British manufacturing, to ensure a domestic supply base for drones, ships and other kit, said Salisbury.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving factories in UK that can do that is going to make that a lot easier. And now is the time to kind of build up that supply base, because once you\u2019re in a hot war, it\u2019s too late,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\t\tYour next read<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\"Article <\/a><\/p>\n

Salisbury also said we need to be investing in infrastructure like shipyards, because we need to have the long-term yard space and investment to be able to meet our own needs, as well as those of allied navies.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s long-delayed Defence Investment Plan is expected to be published by the end of the year, but Foreman said that while \u201cwe\u2019ve been promised a defence and investment plan, it\u2019s about time the government stopped issuing concepts and started acting.\u201d<\/p>\n

An MOD spokesperson said: \u201cWe\u2019re responding directly to a resurgence in Russian submarine operations, including the recent Yantar activity, by rapidly accelerating the development and deployment of next-generation anti-submarine technology. The Royal Navy is pioneering the transformation of new hybrid navies, tapping into a \u00a3350 billion pound worldwide potential market.<\/p>\n

\u201cAtlantic Bastion is a major step-change in UK maritime defence \u2013 creating a hybrid force that links autonomous vessels, AI-enabled sensors, warships and aircraft to protect critical undersea infrastructure from this growing Russian activity backed by the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Russian Navy maintains one of the most formidable submarine fleets in the world. Britain must step up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5018,3,4],"tags":[748,393,4884,1144,8593,332,712,62146,42660,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-630465","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"category-uk","9":"category-united-kingdom","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-northern-ireland","14":"tag-royal-navy","15":"tag-russia","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-strategic-defence-review","18":"tag-submarines","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom","21":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115713317888393015","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}