SerpApi.Org
An abrupt move by a Russian warship to fire live artillery rounds in the English Channel as Andy Burnham was becoming Prime Minister saw at least five British and French military aircraft scrambled to the area, it can be revealed.
The heavily-armed Russian frigate, Neustrashimy, continued to be tracked by the Royal Navy on Tuesday, a day after it performed a “highly unusual” 30-minute test firing of its main cannon using live rounds in international waters some 46 miles south of Plymouth.
Aviation tracking data shows that the exercise by the Kremlin warship was followed by a flurry of activity by UK and French forces as aircraft, including two RAF Typhoon jets, circled off the South Coast and military helicopters also operated in the vicinity.
A Royal Navy patrol vessel, HMS Tyne, which had been shadowing the Neustrashimy, was forced to reposition to a safe distance of five miles after it was radioed by the Russian ship of its intention to conduct the firing exercise between 9am and 10am on Monday.
‘Performative and irresponsible’
Newly-installed Defence Secretary Wes Streeting described the Russian action as “performative and irresponsible” as senior defence figures suggested that the incident had been a deliberate move by Vladimir Putin to present a “challenge” to the UK on the same day that Burnham was assuming office.
Streeting said: “We should see yesterday’s events as performative and irresponsible. It’s not the first time that Russia has behaved like this, and frankly, it’s the tip of the iceberg of the daily threats that this country faces and our allies face.”
The incident is the latest evidence of any increasingly muscular Russian naval presence in British and European waters. It comes shortly after another Russian warship last month fired warning shots in the vicinity of a yacht being sailed by a British couple off the Isle of Wight.
Russia ‘flouted shipping conventions’
Experts told The i Paper that, while the Russian test firing on Monday was legal because it took place in international waters, Moscow appeared to have flouted international shipping conventions whereby formal notice is given to vessels in the vicinity of any live firing activity prior to it taking place.
Hazards to navigation are normally notified via the so-called NAVAREA system, which distributes safety bulletins to shipping about pre-notified events, including military exercises.
No such advance warning appeared to have been given by the Russian navy despite the English Channel being widely regarded as the world’s busiest shipping lane, with some 500 commercial vessels a day transiting en route to and from the Dover Strait.
Brittany Ferries, which operates services to France in and out of Plymouth, confirmed that none of its vessels had been affected by the incident but said it had not been made aware of any “course changes or advisories from the Russian vessel”, or the British and French authorities.
‘Calibrated pressure’
Emma Salisbury, a naval expert and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said Moscow’s apparent failure to issue a NAVAREA warning fitted a growing Russian pattern of asserting “calibrated pressure” in the English Channel, in this case seemingly choreographed to remind UK leaders of Russia’s agenda as Burnham entered Downing Street.
Dr Salisbury said: “Everything about the exercise was designed to stay inside the bounds of what is legally defensible while still generating the desired effect: visible reassertion of Russian naval presence close to the UK, apparently deliberately timed to coincide with a change of prime minister.”
Lord Dannatt, the former head of the British Army between 2006 and 2009, said there seemed to be little doubt that the incident was a further illustration of the “aggressive instinct” of Putin towards the UK and Ukraine’s allies.
He told Times Radio that the Russian president “wants to demonstrate that Russia’s got muscles that it can flex and it’s not entirely by happenstance that that Russian warship chose to carry out a live-fire exercise on the same day that Andy Burnham became Prime Minister”.
The peer added: “This is an indication from the Kremlin that ‘we’re here and we’re powerful, we’re strong, and what are you going to do about it?’ So it’s a challenge.”
Cat and mouse between Russia and British navies
The Neustrashimy has been sent by Moscow to escort Russian “shadow fleet” oil tankers through the Channel, replacing the Admiral Grigorivich – the vessel which last month fired warning shots in the vicinity of the yacht sailed by British couple Jane and Alan Kelvey.
Defence sources described the move by the 130m Neustrashimy, which has 200 crew and recently completed a hi-tech refit, to fire its 100mm main weapon as “highly unusual”. The cannon, designed to target surface vessels and aerial threats, can fire 50 rounds per minute at distances of 12 miles or more.
The Royal Navy and their French counterparts have long played a game of cat and mouse with Russian vessels transiting or loitering in the Channel, closely shadowing Moscow’s naval activities. In June, Royal Marine Commandos conducted the seizure of the Smyrtos, a Russian shadow fleet tanker, sailing through the Channel – the first operation of its kind by UK forces.
Rapid reaction Typhoons scrambled to South Coast
Sensitivity to the presence of the Neustrashimy off Plymouth was underlined by the deployment of a French military aircraft to jointly monitor its progress with HMS Tyne prior to the test firing.
The Royal Navy vessel manoeuvered, which had been sailing some two miles from the Russian frigate, moved further away during the artillery exercise before later resuming its shadowing role.
Flight tracking data also showed considerable airborne military activity around the same time as the Russian firing. Two Typhoon fighter jets, based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, were recorded circling repeatedly off the Dorset coast in an operation that also involved a Voyager jet, which is commonly used for refuelling. Two helicopters – one French and one British – were also seen operating in the same vicinity.
The Ministry of Defence insisted that the Typhoons, part of the RAF Quick Reaction Alert Force used by the UK to scramble to confront Russian threats, had not been in the area to monitor the Neustrashimy.
In a statement, the MoD said that the Royal Navy “continues to track the vessel’s activity closely, and stands ready to protect UK national security”.
Experts underlined that Britain should expect further efforts by Russia to make its presence felt off the UK coast, deploying a growing portfolio of “grey zone” tactics designed to stop short of outright confrontation.
Dr Salisbury said: “The pattern continues of a steady raising of pressure, testing reactions, normalising presence, and extracting a propaganda dividend at minimal cost.”
