Underwater Watch: British Navy Keeps an Eye on Russian Sub

The British navy has been busy lately. They spent three days keeping tabs on a Russian submarine cruising through the English Channel. The submarine, named Krasnodar, is a sneaky Kilo-class type. It sailed on the surface the whole time, but the British were ready to dive into action if it went underwater. A British supply ship with a helicopter on board was sent to monitor the submarine and a tugboat named Altay. The Russian ships came from the North Sea and entered the Channel. The British navy said they were prepared to switch to anti-submarine mode if the submarine dived. Near the island of Ouessant, off northwest France, the British handed over the monitoring job to a NATO ally. They didn't say which one, though. This isn't the first time the British have seen increased activity from Russian submarines. Over the past two years, the number of Russian subs in British waters has gone up by about a third. Earlier this month, the U. K. and Norway teamed up to hunt down these submarines in the North Atlantic. In July, the British military tracked another Russian sub, the Novorossiysk, in their territorial waters. In January, the defense secretary told Parliament that the Royal Navy was keeping an eye on a Russian spy ship called the Yantar. The British navy also revealed that in late December, the frigate HMS Somerset tracked a Russian naval group as it sailed from the North Sea to the English Channel. The group stayed in international waters, though. In November 2024, British jets were scrambled to monitor a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying close to U. K. airspace. This was just days after NATO jets were mobilized when Russian aircraft were spotted over the Baltic Sea and off the coast of Norway. In September last year, Royal Navy warships spent a week closely shadowing four Russian vessels in U. K. waters. Two Royal Air Force jets were also scrambled to intercept two Russian aircraft operating near the U. K.