Defence Secretary John Healey has issued a direct warning to the Kremlin after the Russian intelligence-gathering ship Yantar returned to the northern approaches of the UK and targeted RAF crews with laser dazzling devices.
The government says the vessel, which is sitting just outside UK territorial waters north of Scotland, was tracked by a Royal Navy frigate and RAF Poseidon aircraft after it entered the area in recent days.
Healey used a Westminster press conference to set out the government’s assessment of the ship’s purpose and to deliver a pointed message to Moscow. “We see you. We know what you’re doing. And if the Yantar travels south this week, we are ready,” he said.
He described the vessel as part of a wider Russian programme under the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, known as GUGI, which is tasked with developing and operating systems intended to surveil and, in conflict, sabotage undersea infrastructure. “It is part of a Russian fleet designed to put and hold our undersea infrastructure and those of our allies at risk,” Healey said, adding that the UK tracks the ship’s movements every time it enters “British wider waters” and does so in coordination with allies.
Helaey confirmed that during its current transit the ship used laser systems against RAF P-8 Poseidon crews sent to monitor it, a tactic NATO states have accused Russian units of using before in contested air and maritime zones. The UK response has involved deploying surface vessels and persistent air surveillance to map the ship’s activities.
Yantar is a 108-metre Project 22010 oceanographic vessel. Although officially a research platform, Western navies assess it as a deep-water espionage asset capable of deploying submersibles able to reach 6,000 metres, inspect or tamper with seabed cables and support covert seabed operations. Its return to UK waters follows a pattern of deployments that align with Russian interest in NATO’s critical underwater infrastructure.
Healey framed the UK response as part of a broader posture developed with Nordic and Baltic partners after recent attacks and suspected interference in regional offshore networks. “We will not tolerate a threat to the British people’s essential connections under water,” he said.
If we flag up what the Russians are doing and do nothing about it then it makes us look weak.
If a Russian vessel engages a UK aircraft with a laser then that’s an attack.
Shots should be fired across her bow and if she persists then they should return fire.
If we are not going to take such action then we should shut the f**k up about it because statements like this from Healy are exactly what the Russians want.
Better yet Healy could release the defence investment plan that he promised.
I agree – this isn’t grey warfare, it’s an attack designed to disrupt UK aircraft.
If we have reports of attack from a state actor, we should take action, either with shots across the bow or maybe even board and seize the ship
That would be a delightful turn of events, imagine the SBS storming the vessel. That would send a very, strong message to Vlad and his minions.
Not like he can do anything about it
Well quite. “We see you, we know what you’re doing’- of course we do- that’s the whole point from their perspective. What they want to know is whether we’ll actually do anything about it.
Indeed, such a lame response from Healy, almost as bad as Williamsons ‘Go away and shut up’ line.
What a lame response from Healy, almost as bad as Williamsons ‘Go away and shut up’ line. I bet the Kremlin is shaking at the thought of it.
Ir wouldn’t legally be classified as an attack, as I assume all it did was dazzle the sensors on the aircaft. Its difficult as we want to stay on the right side of international law or we just give Putin extra ammo.
What I would like to see is RAF jets flying along the russian border but just outside it fully loaded with missiles. A show of strength that he is messing but we mean business nato needs to push back but do so within legal bounds
Perisher serial: anti-surface torpedo attack (LIVE)
Russian people in charge are gigantic “see you next tuesday”
I really hope Ukrajne starts to target Moscow so that the public realize what a bunch of psycho liars are leading them. much harder to spin when it happens in the capital than some remote place out of sight and out of mind
Targeting lasers at our planes is very provocative
However the Yantar’s capabilities are extremely worrying and of their two modern manned subs furtllng around our stragetic underwater assets is very worrying.
I hope the MOD have an Astute ready to confront them especially and if their 2 DSV’s is found in our waters
Sink them
Is there anything that can be done to disrupt them without sinking them?
I could tell them jokes 🫡
As Yantar doesn’t seem to have entered UK waters, a shot across the bows is what it deserves, no more. Physically imposing a frigate between the ship and UK waters to hold it back could be a possible. It’s probably a bit dangerous, just like dazzle lasers I suppose.
Their upto date DSV’s are what worry me
Yantar could just be in internanional waters whilst the DSV’s could be many miles inside our waters causing mischief
I wish we could grab one and catch them redhanded
I seem to remember an image of an Astute in Gib carrying a special ops submersible behind the conning tower
That is a Chalfont DDS for use with the 3? SDV the SBS possess. I would think the ones the Russians use can dive much deeper for reaching underwater cables than the SDVs used for insertion.
Maybe briefly pop an Astute out of the water so they know how much they’re being watched and that the UK is ready. Plus if they’re using lasers to disrupt RAF aircraft, Isn’t there anything the RAF or RN can use as a sort of non aggressive counter?
Too much screaming from the usual suspects that such nasty things are a contravention, should be banned, and so on. Much as the hullabaloo over AI and other advances which Russia and China will happily be progressing with but the rights groups in the west ( whom I suspect are all encouraged by or linked to our enemies, see CND ) will scream blue murder over and of course the liberal elite bend over….
Unleash a UUV with all markings removed, set it to collide with the Yantars’s hull / propshafts.
Then use Russia’s main tactic: deny we did anything.
They did that already, in November of 2024, the Russians clearly didn’t get the message
send the militant fringes of green and pro-palestine movements in boats to harass them. the radical ones are very good at being nuisances
if Russia responds with lethal force, then the armed forces would be entitled to respond and take them out
The green and pro-palestine mob view any anti-western country as an ally.
It’s actually the far left that are more likely to support islamic ideals, you only have to look at Your party to get the point, Jeremy Corbin a radical leftist and Zara Sultana. The revolution in Iran in 1979 was in part brought about by far left groups with Marxist leanings. The left are more than likely to support Hamas and the Iranian regime, when Israel (rightly or wrongly) went into gazza the left lost their tiny little minds, but when the Mullahs hang women from cranes for refusing to conform the left is silent, tells you all you need to know about them doesn’t it ??
Indeed.
Pro-palestine activists groups are mostly a toxic alliance of Islamists and the far left.
Neither are loyal to the UK.
BOOM.
Laughable bullshit. Fascist religious ideology is and always has been a righttrash mental disorder. No wonder cretinous “Christian” nationalists cling to their Neanderthal magical thinking. Jihadis and Rednecks both love guns and violence 🐷👎🏾 and of course hate progress in any form.
Skyfairy-worshipping imbeciles are just the toxic parasites normal people have to tolerate in these benighted times.
Unfortunately it’ll take a few centuries before Darwin sorts you lot out 👎🏾
So much hate and nastiness in every comment.
I feel sorry for you.
“It” is well known for it. I don’t even read it when it pops up as it’s been vile before. No idea what was said but I can guess.
One of the enemy within for me, I’d not waste the steam of my **** on.
Every site seems to have “people” like this.
I see a few pop up here at times with hate and nastiness, I supose It helps them feel better in some vague way.
We have a name for such “people”
Wad Sankers.
That’s so true, but it doesn’t change the point though, that Islamic movements have co-opted certain left wing thinking, in that both left-wing and Islamist movements have historically shared a critique of Western imperialism and neo-colonialism. Islamist movements have incorporated this into there own thinking. Also there is a case Christianity is very similar to some aspects of Islam, maybe that is because they are both Abrahamic religions ??? The right wing can be just as bad though can’t they?? The only ones benefiting though is Russia, you go far enough left and Right and you will meet in the centre of Moscow
Mate, I’m utterly non religious or political personally.
All I see is hate from people who are.
But I see that Sheeple need to be believers in both.
Off the top of my head- foul their props, jam their comms, dazzle their bridge crew, board and seize the ship.
Would Keel Hauling help too ? 😁
Sink it. Respond to aggression in the only way these subhumans understand. Stop being weak!
Donald Trump might … Keir Starmer? … seems not really to be his style.
Famously tough with the Russians, Trump.
Seriously? Trump strong with the Russians? Ok. I come here for informed opinion on military issues and yet have to wade through piles of ridiculous biased tripe about the left and right. Loads of it in this very comment section. But buried amongst it all are still some interesting bits of information or opinions.
Ha ha, I come here just to take the piss !
As long as the UK government sees no value in defence, nothing will change!
True but, if the voting public doesn’t want to pay extra taxes and doesn’t want cuts in services either but keeps putting things in the suggestions box entitled, ‘New Things to Spend Money on’ then there is not a lot of scope for change other than another round of deficit spending which only guarantees even less money for defence spending (and everything else) in the future,
The Tory cuts from 2010 were indeed a disgrace.
BOOM!
You won’t get the right whingers that pollute this forum ever agreeing to that truism… They live in a fantasy bubble of magical thinking….
the pages that could be written in repsonse to this comment would require about 30 volumes, however, you while you can lead a horse to water, you cannot make it drink.
We will may be send them a sturn text, or block them on face book. As we are too wet and weak to do any thing else. Just like the rest of Europe. What sad weak joke we look China and Russia do what they want and we moan about and do nothing. I am not saying sink the ship or boared it but come do something, stand up to them for once its embarrassing.
If ruzzia keeps attacking us the government will have no choice but to cut more capabilities.
That will show putin
Could the U.K. board and seize it to determine if the lasers being used are capable of permanent blinding, which breeches Protocol IV of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons? Of course, the lasers probably just cause temporary blindness… but we might have to haul it to port and dismantle all its super secret equipment to determine that 😏
This is reminiscent of the Cold War, when I recall reading that Soviet vessels would use laser Dazzlers on US and other NATO aircraft.
We had a handful in 82 deployed south, but I don’t think they were used. The media picked up on this in the mid 2000s which was hilarious as they’d been known about for a while and were a bit of an open secret.
GB has commented on these before maybe he will comment.
Non lethal is a thing, maybe we can return the complement?
I cannot recall the name the MoD gave the things….
“Bobby” dazzlers ?
Ha. No….I keep thinking it began with a C….
Cheavage.
Powerfull laser and the dazzle would blind the pilot if they came to close.
Hence it was taken out of service as it was designed to wound not outright kill which is against certain rules…
Ahhh, brill, thanks GB. It was bothering me.
Yes “Cleavage” in the wrong place can cause accidents, I once nearly rear ended someone whilst distracted by Cleavage on the pavement.
Yep,essentially a graduated and exact response is needed.. it could be using none leathal back..or it could be as radical as having a patrol boat close for close contact and accidentally rub.. Iceland did this to the RN with great success.
I can see the utility of the Chinese Guard Zhaotou-class OPVs.
These sorts of intrusions show the need to increase our forces in home waters. Expanding the OPV fleet would be an affordable option. Modest uparming, including a rotary UCAV would increase their effectiveness. Firing warning shots, as Russia claimed to have done to HMS in the Black Sea, might be enough to deter further incidents.
HMS Defender.
Taken direct from BBC News.
The committee said the UK and its European allies should be building up their capabilities to prepare for potential US withdrawal.
Healey said the UK government “takes a different view” to the committee about America’s commitment to Nato.
“The strength of Nato is not just about the defence of Europe. it’s about the defence of America too,” he told reporters.
But he said the committee was “right to say” Britain should “pick up the pace of our commitment” and that was something Labour has been doing since it came to power last year.
The last sentance….an UTTER BLATENT LIE.
Why won’t the BBC find someone to contradict this bullshit from these people?
You should know all about bullshit, missus Italian ladyboy, since that’s all that ever exudes from your tiny excuse for a brain 🤡🤮😂
When are you getting deported back to your paradise fascist homeland?
-kin -ell 😂😂😂
Have you considered joining the Refom Party yet?? if not maybe you should go and get yourself an early christmas pressie of a lifetime membership, if you need help filling in the form I’m sure their are a few chimps at the local zoo that may help you 🙂
Maybe we should let Ukraine station a few drone boats off our coast let’s see Russia sail back quickly to its frozen ports
One thing leads to another, before we know it we are in a conflict, an ever deeper spiraling descent into aggresive responses.
Be carefull what you wish for.
Agreed. We’d have been at war years ago if the actions some wanted here had been carried out. Such as sinking Russian ships sailing through the Channel simply because they are there.
This is a step up from just sailing past though, so a response is still needed.
I guess the people tasked with the job, are doing what they feel is correct, however, only time will tell.
“Tit for tat” responses easily get out of hand.
How about a few close range high speed passes by a surface escort ? The wash from the pass would make life quite uncomfortable for launching and recovery of craft. Or repeated supersonic low altitude fighter jet passes, break a few windows and snap a few aerials..
As I was reading your post, visions of Buccannears at 10ft or less came to mind.
Or a Vulcan…..😏
Ouch!
Ha, I now have visions of “Spock” flying low with his bomb bay doors open and undercarriage skimming the waves !
Or is it the Vulcan Bomber you are talking about !!!
We did that to a Kirov off the north cape in the late 80S. Bucs came in and we where looking down at them from the bridge on a T42!
Few hours later the Kirov transmitted on sonar and was answered by a Victor that had been following us for days probably and we knew nothing about…
Cold war fun and games…
Thats exactly what the little prick wants, he will look like the strong leader of the next great patriotic war.
Fight them with something they can’t understand, that is not in their gameplan, that throws them off guard. Something like… humour? Anything but appeasement.
It’s human nature to react against aggresion but then the reaction gets returned.
This little man/prick has one massive over reaction at his finger tips, best not over react with humour tactics !
There’s a report somewhere that the Ukrainians are painting their FP-5 Flamingo long range missiles pink and calling them The Dildo of consequences, funny if true
Envision this. The Ukranians send a Tomahawk misslie to Moscow, it detonates at 2500′ and showers the populace with laminated pictures of Putin, naked, holding his fully erect 4″ dick saying “I am the great one”. The HMS Astute surfaces off the Yantar with Pink blasting out “Get This Party Started” unleashes a paint ball cannon and submerges leaving the Yantar brilliant neon pink. In the UN the UK member questions the competency of the Russian Federation in it’s special operations, says it’s embarrassing when a “major” power shows complete ineptitude. Several shadow tankers, with no registration or insurance, find they have limpet mines attached to their hulls…but wait they are transducers playing Celine Dion non-stop.
If things escalate we send Half Wit in to tell jokes and do Robin Williamns skits…
And if we really want to f*** him over, send a prior, well-publicized at the UN, Santa-Hercules (unmanned) over Europe at Christmas, broadcasting “Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Man”. If he shoots it down he is shown up as the small-dicked piece of shite he truly is.
As far as the DSVs…if they are in our waters, find them, torture the pricks manning them for a couple of hours playing cat ‘n mouse, then sink them.
Big strong words from a teenage brained fantasist, well done, that’ll show em 🙄🥱
I understand that Reality is not to your liking so delusions are more comforting…
Have you considered joining the Refom Party yet?? if not maybe you should go and get yourself an early christmas pressie of a lifetime membership 🙂
Time to unleash the Sea Venom
I’ll make my point again abut the need for a flotilla of heavily-armed, ultra-fast RN costal forces Motor Gun Boats to push back against this sort of thing. Does not have to cost a fortune: just stick a 40mm Bofors, pair of .50 cals, and a couple of missiles on the thing. Operate out of various ports all along the UK coastline. Good for local RN recruitment too. Bashing about the waves at 40kts, then back home for tea and medals.
Healey needs to keep his trap shut or he risks looking like a school yard loud mouth always making threats and never actually doing anything because there is nothing that can be done without risking WW3 and we are not exactly ready for that at the moment.
Yeah, we should shave off his eyebrows, that’ll shut him up.
😉
Before anyone declares WW3 a few pertinent questions.
1. What class of laser was used? If it was an eye safe laser range finder what is the issue?. Hms Somerset has an eyesafe laser in GSA8 pod on the fore mast for range finding.
2. It’s in international waters not UK territorial waters
3. If there is a threat from laser illumination bridge crew, upperdeck and aircraft crew get goggles to wear. Been there done that when Ivan had Tin Man on ships and we followed the Red Banner Fleet all over the North.
Party Pooper !
Stop posting sensible comments in here 😀
But you are right, this is nothing new and nothing to be overly concerned about, for now.
Exactly 👍🏾
Sort of thing that happened in the ‘cold war’ all the time, but wasn’t talked about as much.
I mean it’s far from the “oops” of Ark Royal hitting its Soviet Shadow.
Nothing new, as all of us Cold Warriors know. The government and the media are hyping this up for a purpose.
Absolutely. I think it’s fair enough to respond to it, though.
Order the SBS to swim alongside the ship and attach magnetic limpet mines. Then the ship due to more careless Russian smoking, setting off an internal explosion. All plausible deniability for the UK