The Royal Navy has closely monitored the movements of a Russian survey ship and task group transiting UK waters, deploying warships, helicopters, and support vessels to ensure national security and maintain maritime awareness.
The minehunter HMS Cattistock and a Wildcat helicopter shadowed the Admiral Vladimirskiy, an oceanographic survey ship, as it passed through the Strait of Dover and the English Channel. Working together, the British vessels maintained surveillance throughout the ship’s passage, ensuring it remained under observation until it exited UK waters near Brest, France.
Shortly after, the Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset and RFA Tidesurge were tasked with monitoring the Russian landing ship RFN Alexander Otrakovsky and the merchant vessel MV Ascalon as they sailed towards the Baltic. The two vessels had recently departed the Mediterranean, with Somerset’s Merlin helicopter playing a key role in tracking their progress.
These operations underline the Royal Navy’s ongoing role in safeguarding UK waters, ensuring the security of trade routes, and maintaining a stable environment that supports economic growth.
Lieutenant Commander Rob Garner, Commanding Officer of HMS Cattistock, highlighted the continued vigilance of the Royal Navy:
“Cattistock has escorted a number of Russian warships and government-owned vessels through UK waters in recent weeks and months, demonstrating the Royal Navy’s operational readiness and steadfast commitment to UK security at sea.”
This latest operation follows similar missions, including the tracking of a Russian task group returning from Syria. In the past month alone, HMS Somerset has been deployed three times to monitor Russian convoys moving from the Mediterranean.
Commander Joel Roberts, Commanding Officer of HMS Somerset, mentioned the high tempo of operations:
“Somerset has been frequently activated to conduct this type of operation given the tempo of Russian activity around the United Kingdom’s territorial and sensitive waters. The Royal Navy offers presence, deterrence, persistence, and flexibility, delivering a range of military and diplomatic options to support our national objectives.”
A minesweeper? What an embarrassment.
What exactly do you want?
A whole carrier group, equipped with squadrons of F-35s, helicopters and multiple frigates, destroyers and submarines, plus several P8s and a squadron of Typhoons, for a single Russian survey ship?
It is curious.
One could have a highly effective covert op with 2 blokes in it from 4/73, miles behind the lines, watching an Armoured Regiment and calling in its location.
A massive difference in capability, size, power, everything.
You won’t hear a peep along the lines that, no, in fact it must be something with teeth doing the reccing, as it makes no sense.
The opposing assets don’t need to match.
The idea is to watch, and be seen to be watching.
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Spot on mate good analogy 👍
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A frigate? The MCMV’s max speed is 17 knots. The Admiral Vladimirskiy’s cruising speed is 19.2 knots. They’re fortunate the Russians slowed down to let them keep up.
It’s not a race, the visual “deterrent” no matter the platform doing the close observation is more about showing the flag, the Russian naval platforms are observed throughout on radar and if need be long range recce and observation. Only those with limited subject matter knowledge get carried away by such nonsense.
I very much doubt the Vladimirsky can still make 19.2 kts, after 50 years of Soviet/Russian maintenance.
Watching a survey ship, seems ok to me! It’s about observation and the ability to react with other out of view assets! But many don’t understand military matters, so “a minesweeper” comment does show that posters limited subject matter knowledge.
A mineHUNTER.
She is one of a few other assets that have been used purely to shadow these ships sailing legally through international waters. Would you prefer that we used force to stop them ?
Yes, There used too be a dedicated Frigate FCS 1 based In Pompey with crew on sailing orders ready whenever, the Russians approached the channel,too shadow them .
I knew when I saw the article the complaints would start.
And here we go.
Maybe we should send out the QEC to “make a statement”?
I see no issue using a MCMV, do its crew not have eyes?
The issue will be when the autonomous RNMBs finally “replace” the remaining MCMV, they might have more trouble with what to send then if the FRE is not available.
Build a few more Rivers or Customs Cutters with a fixed GPMG and have them escort Russian vessels. Any other Nation that needs an escort gets the FRE.
Message sent, “You aren’t worth the FRE’s time.” People will still complain we didn’t bring Belfast out the Thames but the Russians will fume.
Gosport Ferry with the massed bands of the RM and Ukrainians aboard piping them along?
Would taking the piss out of them irritate them more?
A Tugboat with “Available to Rent” plastered on the side in Russian.
I think many Russians see and hear British mockery and contempt on the wind and in the random shadows tree’s make. We can’t make it any worse…
Ah, Perfidious Albion? Excellent.
Hard to choose between the ferry or the tugboat, could we them have both on station?
No, ones in refit until 2032.
Hi DM, complaints, no; questions, yes; suggestion possible. As you say what happens when we no longer have mine sweepers? I also think to escort Russian, Chinese etc ships with a DDG, FFG or a RFA vessel is a waste or resources.
With the minesweeprs slowly going and the P2000s of limited use what can we or should we do. I keep coming back to either large fast attack missile boats or corvettes based on the batch2 OPVs. I myself would prefer a corvette type vessel that can start engines within ten minutes, has a range of 3000 miles at 15 knots and a speed of 26 knots, endurance 15 days. With a weapons fit of a 57mm, CIWS, 4 anti ship missiles and 12-24 Sea Ceptors a helicopter pad and hanger for two drones. Possibly three or four of these corvettes could have CAPTAS 2 to operate out of the Clyde. Manning would be about 60-70 crew members with a split of 50% RN, 40% RNR and 10% students such as final year engineering, weapons and officer training.
These ships would serve three roles, sanitation of water West of Scotland (TAPS), on call escort ship and in times of war convoy escort.With the last role it would mean that all ships of the class would need to be fitted for containerised CAPTAS.
How many of these ships do I see a need for well 9-12, Clyde, Invergordon, Portmouth and possibly Pembroke would be the UK bases, overseas could be the Falklands, Gib and Oman. These ships could also help with UK air defence in the Clyde and Lossie region.
These corvettes would replace the capability lost in the use of minesweeprs for escort duty and replace the P2000s for officer training whilst giving the RNR something to get to grips with. We also need to think about the future, do we really want a T26 on TAPS.
This leaves then the DDGs,FFGs to do the job that they are designed for blue water operation.
Then again can I ask for anything that would increase capabilities at a reasonable cost, in my dreams only.
Hi Ron.
Sounds good. Or maybe the 5 River B2 could be augmented by a few more, preferably covered in SIGINT antenna and with a UAV as standard.
I do seem to remember I think in the old Save the Royal Navy the concept of converting the batch 2 into a corvette. Yet when I look at corvettes from other nations Germany is a good example they seem to have a useful warship, good for convoy escort and able to defend the coastline.
When I think of the Batch 2 OPVs and my idea of a corvette I keep coming back to a BAE design and build for the Royal Omani Navy the Khareef class. Which if memory serves me correctly the Batch 2 is based on. As for SIGINT yes, a few designed with three functions in mind SIGINT, AEROSTAT, SURTASS. AEROSTAT is a bit more complicated but in WW1 the Royal Navy used to take to sea with there battlesquadrons blimps for observation. In fact If my history serves me correctly the RN first used ballons at see in the Napoleonic wars to drop propaganda leaflets in France.
If we did build a batch 3 and 4, batch 3 Intel and 4 Corvette the batch 3 with intel capability operating in the high north would be more than useful. So a Batch 3 with SURTASS and AEROSTAT stationed between Norway and North of Shetlands and a second between Faroe and Iceland and we would have most of the GIUK gap covered both by air and sub. We would also manage to cover the Shetland Norway gap. AEROSTAT can operate in winds upto 120 km and stay up for a week at a time with a radar range of 200 miles that extends UK low level coverage. In fact with a 200 mile range of the radar you can cover the Faroes to Bergen. The Faroes have an average max wind speed of 63km per hour so AEROSTAT ops is not an issue.
Whatever we build it won’t be in the water until most of us are dead anyway…
BAE did propose their Avenger and Cutlass designs for the Type 31 competition. Cutlass was a Khareef class corvette with a makeover. Nice looking ship. In the event Arrowhead won the Type 31; a second batch could be configured for ASW duties and maybe also MCV using drones deployed from the mission bay?
Oh well whatever they used they should have displayed the new Syrian flag prominently.
They could use those autonomous boats they’ve playing about with for tasks like this I would imagine.
They’re, geez
Quick get both carriers to sea, as many 45s and 23s as possible, get some chally 2s and at least a Coy of Warriors, GMLRS and the PCSOs from Hampshire constabulary, we need to monitor this rather slow moving russkie oceanographic ship which is passing through the English Channel, anything less is treason……….FFS some posters get a bit carried away and don’t really understand the concept of visual escorts.
Ha ha. It’s the limited thought process that produces such blinkered thinking. UKDJ are great at attracting these people.
I think the problem is not the slow moving merchant type but when the s–t hits the fan… I would like to see more real warships, even the ones we are building will make the navy smaller…
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Cattistock etc increasingly used iin the secondary role of patrol and escorts. Does support the idea that both the MCM ships and the batch 1 Rivers could be replaced by something like the Kongsberg Vanguard.
A mcmv approaching a Russian vessel. With the Russian Navy’s record of attacking British vessels in the North Sea when they thought they were enemy ships, it’s just as well they didn’t mistake Cattistock for Chernihiv.