The RFS Yuriy Ivanov has been photographed closely monitoring HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Carrier Strike Group off the Scottish coast.

John Clark, who can be found on Twitter at @jrclarkbf800, captured an image of the vessel, his tweet is shown below. Thank you to John for allowing me to reproduce these images.

Pictured close to the intelligence gathering vessel are HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Defender.

The Yuriy Ivanov class is a signals intelligence collection ship.

Signals intelligence is intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether communications between people or from electronic signals not directly used in communication. Essentially, the Russian vessel is gathering intelligence on the signals emitted by the group.

According to Armstrade.org, the ship was designed by the JSC Central Design Bureau Iceberg.

“The displacement of the ship is more than 4,000 tons, the cruising range not less than 8,000 miles (13,000 km) and its armament consists of light anti-aircraft weapons. The ship on its performance characteristics and capabilities is considerably superior to similar vessels of previous generations mainly due to the versatility and high level of automation and systems integration. The first ship, Yuriy Ivanov, was laid down in 2004 and was launched on 30 September 2013. The second ship, Ivan Khurs, was launched on 16 May 2017.”

What is the Carrier Strike Group doing?

HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Carrier Strike Group are currently exercising alongside allied nations in and around the Scottish islands as part of the massive Strike Warrior exercise.

HMS Queen Elizabeth at sea with a mix of British and American jets.

The Royal Navy say that Exercise Strike Warrior involves more than 20 warships, three submarines and 150 aircraft from 11 nations and is a final test for the Carrier Strike Group ahead of its first operational deployment to the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Asia Pacific.

“The exercise, which will run for two weeks, will see the task group pitted against warships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 in waters off north-west Scotland to prove it is capable of undertaking high intensity operations against the most demanding adversaries. The culmination of Strike Warrior will see the Carrier Strike Group certified ready for deployment, at which point operational command will pass from the Royal Navy’s Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Jerry Kyd, to the Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral Sir Ben Key.”

 

 

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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49 COMMENTS

  1. Would the group go “silent” in this scenario or can’t due to operational requirements to co-ordinate exercise? Is there such a thing as doing comms via a laser connection if you need to go silent? I know doesn’t work well with fog etc, but could you have something stabilized pointing ship to ship or too hard to do? I presume directional microwaves out of the question as don’t want to cook sailors 🙂

    • You would just accept that they are going to be there listening and try and keep your full capabilities from being on show, i.e. not using the full range of your abilities/broadcast power.

    • The ship I was in did plane guard for the USS Intrepid in the 1970’s, when she was operating as an ASW carrier, with Trackers and Sea Kings. We went silent on radar and most comms, and she continued to operate her aircraft. We lost our tailing AGI in some fairly thick weather, she found us again two days later, someone had let a radar do two complete revolutions while transmitting and that was enough for her to get a useable bearing on the force. Whether it could be done today I don’t know.

      • Yeah I’m curious they say Aesa radars are much harder to track but they must emmit some form of radiation. Brings it back to the fawlkands war scenario where you have to decide is it better to be visible with your eyes open or turn off the radar in the hope they won’t find you either

        • Passive and indirect radar are at a whole different level now.

          You would have relatively few radars running fully active in today’s environment.

    • All vessels abide by the in force EMCON policy. EMCOM ( EMISSIONS CONTROL) states what you can transmit on and at what frequencies. EMCON varies according to your location to land and proximity of vessels or aircraft. RED is the tightest policy and heavily restricts the use of specific frequencies and transmitters especially with a listener nearby.

      It won’t restrict day to day activity that much but you need to watch what you transmit on or what you say over an open radio channel.

  2. Hello George, not sure if you will see this but, Any chance you could do an article about the PLAN please ? Just to highlight what they actually have now, I really think people would find it interesting if not a little bit surprising to see just how many and what capability they now possess. Their equivalent of our RFA is gathering pace, their Destroyers and Frigates number 100 plus and I’d like to see the comments here. Many thanks.

    • That is a good call.

      Particularly if George can dig up reliable quotes from anyone who has seen them up close.

      China has a big fleet, no doubt at all.

      • Well, That’s just how I see it to be honest mate. “We” are all too quick to dismiss them but really, we should be taking a close look at their advances in tech and Capability. Some on here believe they are not a true “Blue Water” Navy but I reckon that’s rubbish, it might have been the case a few Decades ago but not now….. Let’s see what they actually have now on here….. after all, we are sailing to show our resolve in their own AOI.

        • Hi mate. I don’t think it really matters what we think, the RN, Gov, MOD and our intelligence services will know exactly what capabilities China has/has not, and what it will be capable of today and in the next few year’s. The RN isn’t trying to out gun China on our own, but as a Allied force if heaven forbid we did ever have to enter a conflict with China. China would very much have it’s hands full. The USA on it’s own could still handle China. It’s building at a rapid rate and has a large fleet. But still nothing close to matching the Americans Nimitz class carrier’s or nuclear submarine fleet. And so far, they can still only deploy it’s mass close to home. Fortunately, we live in a global economy, which means we are all tied into each other in one firm or another. China, like Russia has pretty much nothing to gain from a conventional conflict with the west except global economic ruin, and mass loss of life. The want to be global leaders, they want the largest economy in the world, but that doesn’t mean they will start WW3 to achieve that. Anyway, COVID-19 has proven to be far more effective than any number of Frigates or tanks. And cyber warfare will probably be a bigger threat to our daily lives than a unproven Chinese hypersonic missile. And a conflict isn’t going to be the QE with it’s 4 escorts against the whole PLAN. The West along with Japan, Australia & South Korea will have 29 vessels capable of putting F35 to sea. That alone would give most Chinese Admirals sleepless nights. 👍

          • I agree with you in that the best way to bring China to heel would be economically – this has been demonstrated with 5G and chip tech. China is very dependant on the West for some things: principally money. Cut that off and the standard of living will plummet and China will have a very unhappy population that is hard to control.

            China is no longer very cheap for manufacturing or viewed as a reliable international partner after the stunts pulled over PPE contracts and other things during the last couple of years. Globalisation at all costs, as a cure for all ills, is now bit of a dead duck.

            The problem more arises when the population gets restive and a distraction is needed: a small war is born. That is if the calculus is that they can get away with it.

            How do you get to 29 F35 carriers? Is that Nimitz + Ford + Gator + 2 x QEC + CDG + 2 x Italian + JC’s + Australian JC’s (can’t carry F35 I think) + 2 x Japanese + ??

          • Hi mate. Great reply. I’ll try and dig our the vessel list I saw that will be F35 capable. At least 19 are American, Nimitz/Ford class and the LPHD’s. The other 10 are QE class, Italy, Japan, Australia ect. Of course not all of those vessels will be available at any one time, but you get the idea. 👍

          • It’s not really about us the West making them rich, I see it as us the West giving them the Money to make the tools to exact historical revenge…… Let’s face it, we allied with Japan and nothing I see in the direction they are taking, including building a Blue Water Navy will make me think different. Come on George, please show us what they are building mate. It’s Eye Watering to be fair. Robert, It’s numbers that win Wars mate.

          • I’d say it’s capability and who has the best situational awareness that wins. Certainly in today’s technical age. But hey, what F@@k do I know. 😄

          • Ha, I don’t really know what you know though mate…. That’s the thing about this place really…. no-one actually knows what any of us know do they ? I do believe you know a fair bit more than me though but i also think my Imagination probably has the edge over yours so we probably think in equal measures just not along the same lines though !!!! Either way, I like your post’s and I’m more than happy to be proved wrong mate. 👌

          • It’s not about proving anyone wrong mate. International politics and relations is a complicated business. In terms of our military, 6 x T45’s aren’t really going to cut it against 50 plus PLAN escorts, no matter how capable they are. But it’s never going to be the RN V PLAN. But as part of a collation task group, we could cause them some serious headaches. Let’s hope we never have to find out.

          • That’s what the Chinese think, too, after their J-11s got spanked by Thai Gripens a couple years back! That and training. I think in fairness to the PLA, they are aware of their deficiencies and are trying to rectify them. But ultimately, they will be limited in their training partners, which is where NATO and the SEATO-esque alliances are so strong

          • I would agree to a point. Nothing beats experience. Exposure to Red Flags or Joint Warrior style exercises are pretty much priceless for building combat experience. I’m not sure what the Chinese do on that front. They are catching up rapidly, but still nothing close to matching a Nimitz class carrier and it’s airwing, let alone 4-5 of them deployed. Or the USN nuclear hunter killer sub fleet.

          • First the have to find the vessels they trying to target. The kill chain is incredible complex, and very difficult to pull off. especially against a modern Western warship.

          • Ah yeah i meant the PLA are trying to rectify their training deficiencies, trying to institute their own Red Flag etc but that’s not something that be done overnight, and also another element is a change of ethos is needed also.
            In terms of equipment, they are as you say behind the US, although they do appear to be keen to play catch-up! Whether this is a good strategy for them though is another matter. It might be in their interests not to just have everything that the US has, but develop new kit which can provide an asymmetric advantage. But hey, it’s their RMB to spend!

          • In Exercises i believe,the Gripen had the edge in BVR but once distances closed the J11 had an advantage in Power and Manoeuvrability.

          • Also the PLAAF jets had the R-73 missile and i think helmet mounted cueing, while the Thai Gripens were only equipped with AIM-9L Sidewinders, not the 9X or IRIS-T that Swedish/NATO Gripens are equipped with, and no helmet mounted cueing system, which could’ve allowed for high off boresight shots to offset the su27/J-11’s power advantage in WVR exercises.

          • The PLA and the Thai Air Force have been doing exercises every year i think for the last 5-6 years before covid, but the notorious one was in 2015. It might technically have been Su27s not J-11s that were involved that year, when the Gripen scored high numbers of kills in BVR combat. In subsequent years late-model J-11s and J-10s have been sent and it’s been more equal in BVR engagements.

          • Going back to everyone’s favourite example ’82. We have far more navy than Argentina had. It was the ‘something else’ that actually was near disastrous factor.

            I totally agree that the West is giving China the tools and latitude to take over lumps of the globe – be it revenge or just being on the make. And the democratic world has woken up very late to this creeping and malevolent influence.

          • Ha, It’s not my favourite time personally though mate, I was young and Stupid ( lol, waiting for the predictable…. ) but I would like to add the fact that “We” were really lucky in so many ways… not least in the fact that “Their Bombs” mostly failed to go off. Mostly…… 😢 But on the Geographical front, We were only trying to regain our Islands, not the Mainland. We have no such Territory in the SCS nowadays and mainland China with it’s 1.4 Billion People might just be another Bridge too far.

          • I was sent off to do something else: somewhere else.

            But I don’t think anyone is suggesting UK are going to use QEC’s to invade the Chinese mainland? Or have I missed something?

            I do think that the international community has got to stand up to China appropriating sea space by buying/acquiring/creating islands.

            Then there is the issue of them buying UN votes by debt leverage. It is very unhealthy.

          • “The problem more arises when the population gets restive and a distraction is needed.” -Supportive Bloke

            Ah yes, Supportive Bloke. The classic Theory of Rising Expectations. It occurs when an authoritarian government gradually allows more liberty and economic freedoms over time, which causes the expectations of its people to rise. When economic conditions cause the government to suddenly pull back these freedoms, this can prompt instability or, in severe cases, revolution.

            China has seen years of growth that have raised the standard of living and more freedom for its citizens. Their challenge is to maintain this growth. This must be one of the worries that keeps President Xi up at night. In the final analysis, it’s more important than building a blue water navy (not to minimize China’s increased military spending).

          • Yes mate Totally agree with you on every count but, there are and will be a lot more “But’s” soon, mark my words mate….. You don’t get away with bashing a Wasps nest and come away un stung……

          • Very true mate. They are certainly trying to spread their influence around the world. But I think they have a way to go to topple the mighty Dollar. Time will tell. They certainly have the ambition.

          • Indeed. MOD has long planned force structures around a series of plausible conflict scenarios. The more probably conflict scenarios involving China also involve the US military- hence the emphasis on interoperability.

          • Exactly Ian. We would never go it alone against China. Which is why our kit has to be compatible with the Americans.

      • It’s called “Empire Building” mate ….. Money talks, as History shows. China is building another Dynasty from what I can see.

    • Agreed that is a very good call. Bearing in mind that the CSG are going to be moving east quite soon I would not be surprised if they don’t pick up the PLAN equivalent AGI fairly quickly once they get into the Indian Ocean. I’m sure that one of George’s guest contributors can get a simple users guide together, or point us in the direction of interesting info.

    • Morning Capt. Hows the world. I starting going through my books and online to see what I could dig up. I’ll put something together over the next few days and give it to George.

      Anyway whilst digging I did notice a few things, China seems to be doing stuff diffrently. The way the navy is being built reminds me of the Soviet Navy and how it is tied to the land and bases. The Large destroyers have relitivly short range (5000 miles), the frigates have longer 8000 mile range but with a radar suite that would be seen as about 20 years old in Western Navy’s. The frigates 382 radar system is based on the 1980s Russian MR-710 and the 1987 Chinese 381 system. The corvettes are really lightly armed coast guard vessels. Probably to protect bases and the Islands that China has aquired. As for the Chinese replenishment fleet once the RN has solved the FSS ship situation and the MRSS the UK would have a better replenishment fleet than China.Also the RN can call on allied support ships if need be, China can’t. Even the first two carriers have short legs, the two 003 carriers underconstruction if built as suspected seem strange as they are compared to the Kitty Hawk which had about 12,000 mile range. Why build a ship of this type when you don’t have the replenishment ships to keep the escorts at sea? Unless the Chinese are thinking about keeping the carrier at sea whilst swapping out the escorts every three-four weeks. So it looks like that China is not building a Blue water fleet in the sense of the US or UK but a large fleet that has blue water capable ships but designed to fight about 500-1000 miles from its shore. Some might ask why a ship that has a range of 5000 miles would fight 500 miles from home? There are several reasons, 1. the rough calculation used to be for every 1000 miles you are away from a base a ship losses about 10% effeciancy, 2. 5000 miles is 2500 out 2500 back at cruising speed, at full speed this range is reduced by about 50%, then you need a reserve to fight and possibly in case of damage etc. 3. If a ship is short ranged then I would imagine that crew facilities are not upto the standard of Western Navies, you can only keep a crew in cramped conditions so long before it affects moral. The replenishment fleet has the numbers to support the carrier groups based on 1x Shandong and 2×003, but even here only for a limited time, their replenishment tankers are about half the size of our Tides.
      Even the PLAN SSN fleet is relitivly small. I am starting to think that China is implementing the battle plan of the Imperial Japanese Navy of World War 2, let the Americans come to them, whittle them down with submarine strikes and then deal with the remains in a desisive battle close to home.

      • Morning to you too Ron,My World is a strange place truth be known but every day is a bonus !!!! I guess It’s little steps they are taking but ~They do have some 16 Replenishment ships listed including 2 new 48000 ton type 901’s and 10 type 903’s at 25000 tons. Plus an active search for overseas bases including the west coast of Africa….. So I guess they are doing this for a reason. I shall look forward to seeing what you and George come up with mate.

  7. Could a type 45 frazzle its electronics by using it’s high powered radar very close by? Or QE and battle group could just head off mid atlantic and see if the Russian ship can keep up at 28 knots, before it breaks down

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