Frigates HMS Kent, HMS Argyll and HMS Northumberland plus survey ship HMS Echo and patrol ships HMS Mersey and HMS Severn monitored Russian naval activity across 100’s of miles.

The Royal Navy tweeted that – from Denmark to the Channel and Irish Sea – they shadowed Russian warships and auxiliaries, supported by Danish, US and French allies at sea and in the skies, while the RFA sustained the Royal Navy with food and supplies.

“At the height of the operation HMS Kent and her 157 crew passed through the Dover Strait four times in a week never letting the Russian task groups out of her sight, before handing over monitoring duties to our allies.”

 

Tom Dunlop
Tom Dunlop
Tom has spent the last 13 years working in the defence industry, specifically military and commercial shipbuilding. His work has taken him around Europe and the Far East, he is currently based in Scotland.

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85 COMMENTS

    • Historically we’ve always had periods of relative peace- but they never lasted forever. Generally they last long enough for the collective memory to fade of how badly the last conflict went.

    • Putin has a delusion he is persecuted. He is emblematic of Russian isolationalism. Ukraine is a kill or cure moment. Russia needs and really wants to become a European country.

      • Internally you have created a dictatorship akin to the Nazis with almost absolute power and control and only fear those around you. Externally you are becoming sidelined by a world where 2 economic superpowers dominate and the new one taking on your former role has ten times larger an economy and historically despises you. Your own economy is struggling and stagnant partly due to sanctions from those you yourself despise and deem to be humiliating you. And into the mix your not getting any younger heath concerns have been reported, you want to leave a lasting legacy and are desperate to convince your population that the Country has relevance, influence and to feel optimistic about the future. You can see how a desperate man can see how having spent 15 years attempting to update very expensively his military on the basis it restores them to Superpower status is tempted to use them to try to re-establish some semblance in the World that they should be feared and respected not to simply up their actual perceived status and bargaining position but to cover up the fact that they are becoming increasing marginalised in the World generally. I guess he thinks with some logic that it will give the Country extra time at the top table (indeed if the West crumbled to his demands a sustained one) and increase their sway in the lop sided cosying up with China. I guess the assertion this week that they are the only equivalent nuclear power to the US is revealing in that quest. I guess in reality assuming the West calls his bluff it will simply let us all know he/they is still there and the fear induced will make the usual suspects in Europe argue we mustn’t upset them so that Russian influence here is far greater than it would ever otherwise merit.

        • Well said! Putin is the greatest ambassador for NATO expansion. I firmly believe that if Putin were not in power for the last 20 years, NATO would have been close to crumbling now.

        • Spot on and brilliant analysis of Putin’s psychology- the only thing I would add is that it makes him a very dangerous man who could do something very stupid if he felt it cemented his or his country’s status?

          • I recently had a conversation with some Russian people while on vacation in the Caribbean. I am from USA. Their comments were essentially that Putin is old school and that the people in power need to be younger and have a different position on these international issues. One of them even said politicians should retire by 60 to let newer ideas and views are put forth. these guys were about 30 years old. I got the impression that none of them wanted to go to war.

        • The people. Did a business trip ( software training) to Moscow for a week before I retired. Tried for months to persuade the attendees to meet half way in Frankfurt but they kept saying they couldn’t get out. Eventually I gave in and went to Moscow. Went on a tourist visa, apparently it was easier. Go on really well with the guys. They are just normal people. Russian colleagues looked after me, saw the sights. Impressive city on the imperial scale. The women are beautiful; high cheek bones; walk around as if they own the place. Was told later that they do 😂
          Very religious country despite Stalins decimation of Moscow churches. By the time I left I was able to say thankyou and good bye in Russian to the taxi driver who took me to the airport. His praise was effusive and the expression on his face was saying ‘thanks for coming, we don’t get out much’.
          Putin is no different to anyone else, just looking for love but hasn’t worked out that you need to be nice to people. The Orthodox church needs to lead the Russian people into communion with Rome. Allying with China makes no longterm sense for Russia. Chicken chow mein and Confucius? Backwards step.

          • I’ve been there too: gave a lecture in the Mendeleev Lecture Theatre at St Petersburg University. Big honour apparently.

            All before things started to freeze up again.

            Most of the people are quite nice: as pretty much everywhere.

            A lot of poverty once you scratch the surface. And terrible inequality. Yes, we have super rich in London but not in the aggressive way they do in Russia where it is a game of two halves.

            Had a nice time: ate nice food drank nice wine and was treated as an honoured guest.

            That said my Russian contacts tell me that most things haven’t got better and there is less freedom and more monitoring. Not quite Chinese style but it is getting there.

            Of course the UK originally set the gold standard for CCTV surveillance: others merely follow in our footsteps!!

          • Yes but no matter how much we go on about being freedom loving free spirts we are culturally a bit confused.

            This is the nation that has shuffled off more leaders than anyone else ( let’s be honest we’ve been doing revolution and civil strife hundreds of years before everyone else cottoned on) and did Brexit as a sort of FU to the establishment. But when faced with a poorly managed or ill defined queue completely fall apart in some form of panic ( come on you know you have). We love to be controlled until we decide it’s taking the piss and have a riot/revolution ect.

          • Very deep there Jonathan. Try Romans 7:19-20
            19 For the good which I will, I do not; but the evil which I will not, that I do.
            20 Now if I do that which I will not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me

          • Are you not confusing the people with the leadership. I found the Russian people friendly & generally brilliant. The leadership however only stay in power through fear and bluff and consequently become a little paranoid. .

          • Certainly, if you don’t have a democracy the challenge is how to get the leadership to do what the people need. Even in the UK and US the electorate is can be manipulated by skilful media ‘demand management’.
            We are not prepared to yield on the principle of Ukraine sovereignty so we need to offer Putin another alternative. Maybe he can be tempted by something like a hi-speed railway from Moscow to Berlin; something to symbolically link Russia to Europe. We need to end Russian isolationism.

          • Paul.P wrote: “Putin is no different to anyone else, just looking for love but hasn’t worked out that you need to be nice to people.” Spy’s analysis above is excellent as usual, but this comment is just so succinct it takes the cake.

          • Well Ron, the question is who benefitting from Putin’s bruised ego? The silence from the Moscow Patriarch is deafening.

    • I remember when I was on excersise in 1990 we were still training as if the cold War had never gone away. A question was asked of one of the die staff an RAF regiment officer. ‘Why are we still running around with respirators and noddy suits, we won the cold War?’
      The reply ‘If you believe the Russians have gone away then you are a fool.’

      • The Cold War went a bit tepid for a while but not for that long.
        Anyway The Tepid War hasn’t got the same ring to it…

      • Without the Russian ‘Bogeyman’ NATO has no reason to exist…hence the continued brainwashing. The Russians at one stage soon after the Cold War thawing apparently made a joke about applying to be admitted to NATO…to the horror of high ranking US officials who weren’t sure whether or not they might be serious.

        If European politicians encouraged by their populations genuinely wanted to embrace Russia and achieve a far more peaceful continent…they could…problem is the Americans…they won’t allow it…their economy needs perpetual war and conflict.

        • Mmmmh, Kayaker ……
          I think you’re on the wrong track, here!

          Is this the same peace-loving Russian leadership that poisons political opponents at home and abroad? Is this the same Russia that has called for the end of Western liberalism? Or the same Russian state that attacked a UK town with a nerve agent?

          NATO exists for common security; perhaps you should ask the Poles, Czechs, Baltic states etc why they are still so keen on membership – they certainly see Russia as more than a made-up “bogeyman”. A Polish politician even recently compared historic Russian behaviour to that of a rapist!

          NATO and EU membership has allowed long oppressed
          central/eastern European nations to finally gain peace, security and prosperity – without fear of Russian bullying. One can certainly understand why Ukrainians wish to follow their example.

    • Sadly. we tend to think our recent history will last. It never does, but cuts in defense take a decade or more to undo.

  2. Saw the last episode of Warship the other night. Incredible how brazen the Russians are near our territorial waters. If we’d camped 18 miles off Murmansk they’d throw a complete hissy fit.

  4. According to NATO such close monitoring will become the norm only in greater numbers. This will stretch our RN beyond current short/medium-term planning. Every hull may be necessary to counter what could be called Russian navy swarms. Imagine, if the RN was outnumbered in its own waters?

    • Hi Daniele,

      I could be wrong but read that as more than one group on the move.

      The Russian’s are really stepping up their deployments which is not good news. If they were de-esclating as they claim their ships would be heading back to the barn to underline the point politicially, not cruising NATO’s backyard.

      Putin is still playing his brinkmanship games and pushing the West for more concessions. It’s the late 1930’s all over again – appeasement and we know how that ended.

      Shame I don’t hear a Churchillian voice speaking out this time… I really feel for troops we are deploying with their 30 year old kit. We need to re-arm quickly but I do not see the current politicians ever seeing past their own careers to step up and lead.

      Oh, well fingers crossed.

      CR

      • Hi CR.

        And still the cuts continue…upping the budget is a start, need more assets now.

        Churchillian? I cannot think of a single one, from any party.

        Mind you, some were too busy last year wanting to erase Churchill and going on about race and the usual clap trap, so are we surprised!?

        Round them up and send them to Estonia to join our BG.

    • Hi Daniele, was wondering the same thing. The way that they talked about going back and forth through the Channel and suchlike, I wonder if this isn’t broadly a summaryof the various Russian vessel groups that have transitted in the last few weeks- rather than a new lot. That would be the two lots of amphibs from the Baltic and the other group doing the live fire exercises off of Ireland.
      Bit of politically sneaky wording from the RN though, implying that a whole new lot of 7 Russian warships sailed around our cost.

  6. Would hope to see the UK ship building industry being busy for the foreseeable future considering the increased threat globally, which has significantly increased in the last few years due to two aggressive players now working together for mutual benefit.

  7. Those brave lads and lasses, they’ll be black n blue and will be running low on sick bags. They’ll be getting a right battering in these storms not a nice patrol to be on.

  8. Mine the Channel! Seriously, We are now paying for years of underfunding for our armed forces. The rush for the Ruble has blinded Politicians of all flavours for years. Russia has never been a friend to the UK! and never will.

  9. Looked at another way, here is the unanswerable case for modernising and increasing our armed forces. Putin is one thing, but the principal enemy we have to overcome is the metropolitan clique that runs every aspect of our national life.

    • To be honest most of that metropolitan clique are simply wage slaves to the super wealthy and its getting worse to be honest.

      Although it’s written by a raving elitist libertarian ( Lord William rees-mogg, the Minister for rich peoples daddy) that thinks the general public are a punch of peasants, the book “the sovereign individual” is worth a read. It’s basic premise is the the Information Age will free the rich and powerful from the shackles of the nation state to run the world as they see fit ( to make bags more money from what I could read). Us peasants will become all nationalistic but in the end fall under the control of these super rich individuals who will trade and control populations like a group of absolutely monarchs but without any link at all to any nation states….it’s actually scary as hell and when you listen to Jacob Rees moggs upper class tones in future it will give you a whole new insight into what he and his family really thing or the people who vote for him ( I’m not in any way talking about all conservative MPs, just a select few).

        • Hi Steve that’s interesting as I found it very much in line with the view that the world is and opportunity of the individual or more appropriately the individual with the wealth and other elements of social capital and that nations states are going to become irrelevant. It’s very much a text book of the rise of the tec billionaires and large multinationals controlled buy a select few.

          Its not a happy book at all.

          I would be interested on your key take outs as I think on one level what you take out of it depends on why your reading it and your expectations of what it’s saying, anything written in the English language is just a massive self confirming bias of the readers.

          So any thoughts would be good as it’s hard to find people who have indulged.

          to all the commentators, it’s only 9.95 on the kindle and worth a read, especially if your a socialist, honest it’s a bucket of laughs. But it’s worth reading as for me it gave an insight into the potential geopolitical web and spread as we get the rise of other actors such as individuals who are no longer attached to a nation state but have huge power and influence. Or you could see it as a bit of a ramble by an old bloke with to much time on his hands.

  11. And here they are sending a bloody opv into a potential flashpoint which I believe was stated categorically that they were not intended or would be used for that sort of thing.
    I know they unlikely to come under attack but fuck me at least send something with half a chance of defending itself.

    • James, I answered a similar question on the last thread yesterday, where i pointed out the Montreux Convention for ships entering the Black sea. In a Nutshell non regional ships can only enter the sea as a group with a total mass of 15000 tonnes. The group Trent (Italian and Spanish frigates) is with come in at around 13000 tones, Trent comes in at 2000 tonnes, thus allowing that NATO force to comprise of 3 ships and not 2.

      • Hi Farouk, the convention is based around specific nations so NATO does not count. The U.K. can have it’s tonnage as can every other nation.

        Trent was in the eastern med anyway and they have just pushed it closer to Russia.

        personally I think it’s time to be moving a constabulary vessel out of that area.

    • Unfortunately it would be build in Poland so no actual hull work for the U.K., but a good bit of supply chain I would imagine.

      Im thinking that the U.K may get the order as the talks around a tri nation pact between the U.K. Poland Ukraine are going well.

  14. RN, yet again showing the way for the rest of the mil, well, deffo the Army on how to plan for the future, operate on a budget and innovate! Spot on to the lot of em!

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