A French Navy frigate has been conducting surveillance of a Russian submarine operating on the surface off the coast of Brittany, according to NATO Maritime Command.
In a statement shared on social media, the command said: “We. Are. Watching. A French Navy frigate conducts surveillance of the Alliance’s maritime approaches, marking the presence of a Russian submarine operating on the surface off the coast of Brittany. NATO stands ready to defend our Alliance with constant vigilance and maritime awareness across the Atlantic.”
The activity forms part of NATO’s ongoing maritime posture across the North Atlantic, with allied ships maintaining continuous watch over surface and subsurface movements near European waters.
The submarine is understood to be the Novorossiysk (B-261), a Project 636.3 Improved Kilo II-class diesel-electric attack submarine assigned to the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The Novorossiysk was laid down at the Admiralty Shipyards in Saint Petersburg in August 2010, launched in November 2013, and commissioned in August 2014.
With a displacement of 3,100 tonnes submerged and a length of 74 metres, the submarine can remain at sea for 45 days and dive to depths of up to 300 metres. It carries six 553 mm torpedo tubes capable of firing torpedoes, mines, or Kalibr cruise missiles.
The Novorossiysk has previously been deployed to the Mediterranean in support of Russian operations in Syria. It visited the Spanish port of Ceuta in 2015, drawing criticism from British officials due to its proximity to Gibraltar, and has repeatedly rotated through the region as part of the Russian Navy’s Mediterranean Task Force.
In late September 2025, Russian social media sources reported that the submarine had suffered a serious technical issue involving a diesel fuel leak, though the extent of the damage remains unconfirmed.
Kilo recharging it’s batteries. It’s all about undersea cables.
This is why SSK’s are useless for blue water navy’s.
It’s more of a liability than a military asset.
I wonder if she’s surfaced due to further issues related to those of a few weeks back….
that sub has been limping it’s way back from the Med due to tech issues.
10 days ago the RN was tracking it at Gibraltar
Yes I’m a bit surprised some are commenting here seemingly speculating about its role or capability without knowing the basic story behind why it is behaving the way it is. At least there is no danger of a nuclear leak in this case, not sure a potentially ‘leaky’ nuclear sub sailing through the Channel would be too popular.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), submarines are required to navigate on the surface and show their flag when in the territorial waters of another state to maintain innocent passage
It’s not clear where she actually is though, She is off the coast of Brittany but that could be anywhere, not specifically Territorial Waters as such.
If she has had a Serious Diesel Leak (internally) It makes sense to be surfaced, the fumes are a killer. I would have expected a Tug to be close by if she is in trouble.
Got a bit of “Venting” going on in Halfwit Towers this morning, Chicken Phal was the take home option !
So…you went through with your threat.
If she ended up in need of rescuing, I wonder how many would defect on the spot?
Yes, I’m always very Serious !
“One Ping Only”.
Great film.
Try ‘Das Boot’, probably one of the best Submarine films ever made.
Oh I watched that as a teenager in the 80s. So tense
Yes, me too, seems like decades ago now (oh, it was !!!)
Or, Stingray, or Voyage to the bottom of the Sea !
We were all glued to the telly when Jaques Cousteau was on too, lots of undersea stuff, glorious.
Everyone says you are the hottest poster on UKDJ, the Hottest any poster has ever been in the history of this forum, you’re the Daddy.
I wonder if that conflicts with evidence of Russian submarines presence off of the coast of Ireland in recent times.
The perfect target for the new Sea Venom missile